A Snake in Human Clothing
by Seauko
Summary: (Previously called "Snake Skin") Nagisa Shiota is already struggling with gender dysphoria and his mother. However, when a snake bites him, the venom begins to mix in with his reptile-like blood lust, triggering a life-changing transformation. Will this make the young assassin we all know and love a true monster? Read to find out! Karma x Nagisa. Trans!Nagisa.
1. Change

Everything felt as if it were in fire. His whole body seemed to set ablaze when Nagisa had woken up, after he restlessly struggled to sleep last night. All he felt was pain, but his throat was oh so dry that night so only silent attempts to scream were heard.

Groaning with fatigue, he raises his head, only to come in contact with the sun rays that seeped through the tiny slit in the curtains. He squinted and finally arose to a fetal position, his mind running wild at what had happened yesterday. He felt it over and over again, a strange snake leaping from the unknown and striking his arm.

"Gah." He flinched when his mind projected an image of the snake leaping at him, mouth agape and showing off its sharp fangs that dug into his skin. Nagisa had never seen a snake randomly attack, he was just walking to back from school. With a deep sigh, he collected himself and got changed into his casual uniform. He strolled up to the narrow mirror that sat in the corner of his room to do his tie. He strung it around his neck and began to loop the fabric in a specific order.

As he looked up to see what the tie looked like, his neutral expression began to gloom, his lips forming a small frown. What he saw in the mirror was himself, of course, but his skin was...oddly pale. His right pupil seemed to have thinned out, forming a slit.

He took his hands off his tie, placing his fingers on his cheek. "That's quite...odd.." He whispered. "Maybe the shock last night made me look paler than before?" That could be the case, but what about his eye? Surely that wasn't from the shock. A possible genetic mutation, perhaps? Alternate guesses ran through his mind, making his gut twist.

"I shouldn't worry about this now, it's too early." He forced himself to seed that thought in his head so his anxiety wouldn't deepen further. Nagisa turned away from the reflection and walked towards his closed door, grabbing his book bag along the way. Hoisting it over his shoulder, he twisted the knob and pulled it towards him. The first thing he saw was his mother. She took notice of him aswell.

"Good morning, Nagisa. Sleep well?" She asked warmly, with the boy replying with a grunt.

"Mmhm...I guess.." He stumbled into the kitchen to drop bread in the toaster.

"You guess? Had a bad dream?" The small teen could hear the worry in her voice.

Thats a first.

"Yeah. I barely remember it." A lie was created through his lips. His mother didn't react. She just knitted her brows at her kid.

"Why are you wearing that?" She stands up, and the boy turned. He blinked with confusion.

"It's my school uniform...?" But she grabbed his shoulders tightly, her dark expression already lingering.

"My daughter should not be wearing a tie! Take it off." She reached to grab it, but Nagisa stepped back quick enough for her to swipe nothing.

"Mom, please. Don't—"

"How DARE you defy me?! I buy the food you eat everyday, buy you fresh clothing to wear, and care for you, and all you've done for me was talk back! You are the child, and you must obey your parents!" She snarls, the dark expression masking her fully. Nagisa flinches when she unravels the tie and throws it.

"Now off to school with you." She shoved his lunch into his chest and with that, he walked out of the house. Nagisa sighed and began his walk towards the mountain classroom.

He arrived 10 minutes early and sat down, sliding his book bag beside his desk. Constant dysphoria was stabbing him in the back when he took a look at his reflection. His face was more oval than a circle; his jawline not as sharp. Nagisa turned away from the window to see a certain, yellow octopus beside him.

"Something the matter, Nagisa-kun?" He asked, placing a tentacle on his head gently. The boy tried to avoid his teacher's gaze, but he always felt Koro-Sensei's eyes stare right through him.

"I-It's nothing, sensei..." He deadpanned, placing a hand under his chin to prop it up.

"Nagisa, if there is something bothering you, you must tell someone. Especially me." Koro-Sensei said softly. Nothing came from the small boy, but a squeak of surprise when a gust of wind blew past him as Koro-Sensei suddenly moved at Mach 20, stepping back. Nagisa saw a tall red-head wielding a anti-sensei knife, smiling devilishly.

"Too slow, Karma-kun." Koro-Sensei mused, his face turning a mocking green striped expression, narrowing his white eyes. Karma lowered his knife and tucked it away in his pockets.

"Ah, well, it was worth a shot. Your back was turned, though I couldn't resist." He spoke, his golden eyes wide, with a sinister smile planted on his face. The blunet saw his old friend stare at his chest, making the boy shift in his chair uncomfortably.

"Where's your tie, Nagisa-kun?" Karma asked in a low voice, almost serious even. The teen flinched. Most of the class—scratch that, all of Class E knew the relationship between him and his mother, so why was Karma so surprised? However, before he could reply, a certain green-haired girl plopped down in the chair beside him, breaking the conversation between the duo.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun!" She beamed, making him also want to smile, but alas, he couldn't.

"Okay, everyone!" The class, including the two turn to the front, where their teacher stood.

"Class is about to start!"

It was almost time for training. Koro-Sensei was teaching a new lesson in mathematics. His words meant nothing however, to Nagisa. His brain seemed to have a wall to block out any knowledge the teen was attempting to learn.

What was really irritating was the stinging in his eye. His right eye seemed to even twitch every now and then, which was making it even more difficult for Nagisa to focus. Even though math is one of his weak subjects, he usually can concentrate and do the work properly; though the blue-eyed boy just couldn't stop his eye from squinting rapidly. He felt himself grow frustrated, so he started to grip his pants; shaking about.

"Nagisa-kun?" A voice whispers, though he already knew who it was.

"K-Kayano..." He said through closed teeth.

"Are you alright? You don't seem to be focusing, which is unlikely of you to do." She muttered, lowering her amber eyes.

She knew. She must've.

He noticed her eyes were trailing at his chest, and being self-conscious, he shifted a bit to the right. The taller of the pair seemed to hear her sigh, and turned back towards the yellow octopus, whose back was turned to write down a problem or two with the narrow stick of chalk that rested in his tentacles. He moved to the side so that the whole class could see.

"Okay. I want you all to copy this question down, and answer it. Make sure you've shown your work and that it is completed for tomorrow's class." Koro-Sensei said, placing the chalk down on the blackboard ledge.

Nagisa seemed to moan.

He wasn't much of a fighter, believe it or not. Nagisa preferred brain over brawn, because he could never pull off being strong. He was scrawny; barely any muscle, but he knew how to move around the battle field, and use his skills to have the upper hand when bringing down an enemy. For training, the whole class was split into partners, one would wield an anti-sensei knife, the other would dodge. They would switch roles when Mr. Karasuma said so. Nagisa swiftly dodged a knife that was meant to tag him in the shoulder. He seemed a lot more into this than education. His partner, Sugino stepped to the side and jabbed the knife, but the smaller boy managed to manoeuvre his way to avoid it from touching him.

"Jeez, Nagisa..." Sugino breathes, smiling slightly. "You're fast." He struck again, and Nagisa just ducked.

"T-Thanks, Sugi—" he saw the taller male slash, making Nagisa tumble slightly. However, the boy managed to collect himself and move to the side. The duo went at it for a couple more minutes, with Nagisa dodging every blow Sugino attempts to land on him.

"Alright. Switch!" Mr. Karasuma shouts, and the two boys relax. Sugino passed his anti-sensei knife into Nagisa's hand, and they begin.

Nagisa paused, feeling sudden bloodlust rush through him. He glared at Sugino, whose eyes seem to go wide.

It was then when Nagisa steps forward, and when Sugino begins his defensive stance, he felt a very eerie presence. As if, someones bloodlust had clouded over him. Suddenly he saw a snake wrap around him, constricting his movements. The boa's head finally appeared, glaring at Sugino with slitted, yellow eyes. It opened its mouth and when it was about to attack, Sugino felt something touch his shoulder. As he looked up, the snake head faded and the baseball-lover saw familiar azure eyes look down at him. It was when he noticed that he was on the ground, and Nagisa had the knife touch his shoulder. He gave him a cheerful smile.

"Got you." He said softly, lifting his knife up. Sugino shook his head out of the daze.

"H-How did you..." He knitted his brow with confusion. He had never experienced bloodlust so strong like that, even when they're just training. Especially from the person he least suspected. He waited for an answer from the shorter boy, but nothing came out of his mouth, just a mere shrug.

From afar, Karma leaned against the tree, his eyes perking with interest.

"Hm. I knew this would happen."


	2. Uncontrollable

After school, Karma looked at the petite boy who was packing up his things. He observed what Nagisa did; how his bloodlust was lingering throughout the field, how swiftly he twisted his body behind Sugino almost inhumanly. It was almost like he was facing someone like Takaoka; the person who made him get down on his knees and apologize, then blow up the antidote in front of him, causing Nagisa to snap. Karma admitted; the boy had skill to take down a foe twice, three times the size of him. But what intrigued the scarlet-haired boy was Nagisa's appearance itself.

He seemed almost sick; he was pale as a ghost and his eyes seemed to be slightly bloodshot. Karma just strolled up to his friend and peered down at him.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun." He greeted, earning attention from the blunet. Nagisa looked up at Karma, smiling.

"Hello, Karma. What's wrong?" He broke his crouching position and stood up.

"Ah, nothing. Just wanted you and I to walk home together." He said, obviously wanted to also learn more about Nagisa and his unusual behaviour. The boy returned a nod.

"S-Sure!" He hoisted his book bag over his shoulders, one hand gripping the leather strap. Karma lead the way, and until the two were alone, Karma glared down at him.

"So, at training...I saw what you did." He told him, making Nagisa straighten up abit at the memory.

"Oh..yeah...my bloodlust kind of gotten out of hand..." He scratched the back of his neck and looked to the side, trying to avoid his friend's gaze.

"No offense, but I think your blood lust is beginning to become...I don't know, _uncontrollable_?" Karma added. Nagisa frowned slightly, turning turning to shoot Karma a cold glare. When he did so, Karma looked at his right eye, that looked slightly thinner than his left. He smirked, and suddenly lifted his arms to untie Nagisa's hair, his signature pigtails dropping to his shoulders. Karma had to admit, he looked adorable when his hair was down. The smaller squeaked with surprise, his right pupil thin as a wire.

"Karma!" He frowns, trying to style it back up. The red-head snickered and put his hands in his pockets, eyes glinting with amusement. Once he was finished, he huffed, his pupil now back to its original shape.

"Don't do that..." He whined.

"Why? You pull of either gender adorably." He said, continuing to smirk at the smaller boy from the side. The cerulean haired just looked to the ground, obviously embarrassed and self conscious.

"Aw, don't be like that." Karma pouted, using his arm to hook onto Nagisa and pull him close.

"Just, never do that again." He muttered coldly. Karma chuckled.

"Whatever you say."

When Nagisa arrived home, he dropped his things off on the counter.

"I'm home." He called, taking off his shoes. It was a long day; he had truck-loads of homework to complete and they're not going to solve themselves.

"Oh! Nagisa, I have just came back from shopping!" His mother's voice piped up. His heart began to sink.

 _Oh no._

"I've gotten you a beautiful sundress! Come try it on!"

 _Please...no.._

"M-Mom, I—"

"Don't talk back to me and come here." She said sharply, cutting off Nagisa mid sentence. The boy sighed and walked into the room, seeing his mother holding up the sundress he wanted to wear.

"And take those pigtails out, will you? You have such beautiful long hair; why keep it up all the time?" She places the dress on his bed and undid his hair. It flopped down and Nagisa was almost on the brink of tears as he was guided towards the mirror.

"I have such a pretty daughter..." She whispered, and changed him in the sun dress. She adjusted it so it looked perfect, and forced her 'daughter' to look back in his reflection.

"M..mom, I'm..." Tears rolled down Nagisa's cheeks, his eyes trying not to focus on what was in front of him, but alas a hand grabbed his chin and forced him to stare back at his reflection.

He looked like a girl, and his built up dysphoria started to grow. Nagisa felt uncomfortable and the urge to bawl was increasing.

"Oh, don't cry, Nagisa-chan..." Her soft voice made him quiver, and he tightly gripped the fabric of the dress.

 _He is not a girl._

 _Not._

 _A._

 _ **G I R L.**_

Suddenly his anxiety faded; and bloodlust began to form. It was so strong and thick, ghe boy felt as if he was suffocating. Panicking, he breathed heavily, though it did nothing to ease his dangerous killer instincts.

And with that, Nagisa turned, his azure eyes now a bright teal. His pupils were thinner than ever, making him seem as if they didn't exist. His mother was taken aback at her kid's expression.

Before she could protest, Nagisa jumped with incredible speed, mouth agape.

He blinked open his eyes. Nagisa found himself on the floor, on his hands and knees. He was breathing heavily, but he tasted a very weird liquid in his mouth. It almost had the tang of copper. Then, it hit him.

His mouth was drenched with fresh blood.


	3. Guilt

There was so much blood. The red liquid stained the floors, including the attacker's uniform. Nagisa couldn't even move, as if his whole body was frozen in time. He raised his sleeve and wiped the blood off his chin, still tasting the horrible copper that lingered in his mouth. He didn't even want to turn around to find who he decided to mane. He did anyway, and his eyes dilated.

His mother laid on the ground, knees curled up with her eyes wide at her child. Nagisa's eyes scanned her, and saw that her hand was clutching her shoulder, which had red dripping down her skin.

" _Y...you..._ " Hiromi was speechless at her son's wild and primitive actions. So was Nagisa himself. He would never hurt his mother, not even yell at her any more aggressively, but this...this just made him want to gag. He felt sick.

"You bit me..." Her face was twisted into a nasty scowl. She got up, no longer caring about her wound, the blood dripping from her arm and onto the floor. She stormed towards him and grabbed his arm roughly.

 **"You ungrateful little** ** _shit!_** **Is this how you treat your mother now?! Biting her until she's no longer breathing?!"** She slapped his cheek, making him squeak out with pain. His mom never slapped him. She only just grabbed his hair, but she never touched him or hurt him physically. Her other hand was spread apart, nails digging into his sensitive skin, making it hurt twice as much.

"M-Mom—" he felt her hand meet his cheek again, the spot turning redder with each slap as it started to get more harder and rougher. He began to cry. His eyes couldn't stop leaking with tears, so couldn't his body stop shaking after what he had done to his mother. And the shape of the wound, oh god. It had two holes that dug deep into her skin. Nagisa didn't think he could made only 2 holes instead of an actual human bite wound.

"Go to your room. I've just had about enough of you." She pushed him away, and behind him, he heard a light chuckle.

"You're lucky you didn't get anything worse. You are my precious daughter, after all."

* * *

He felt that horrible feeling strike him like a needle. Nagisa couldn't even explain it. This feeling of unsettling bloodlust is worrying him to the point where his body temperature begins to drop. He rubs his arms to create some type of warmth.

He's still freezing.

Nagisa dove for his bed and curled in the bed sheets, his teeth beginning to chatter. Since when was his home so cold? Even with the mass amount of blankets covering him, he is still cold. His anxiety started to climb again, his heart pounding so hard it may as well pop out of his chest. Deciding to go to the bathroom, he got out of bed, his temperature dropping rapidly. He locks the door and lifts his head to the mirror. His eyes went wide.  
His slitted eye was now a brighter azure, tints of red surrounding his pupil. Nagisa raised a hand to stroke his cheek, only to come in contact with something bumpy. He withdrew his hand quickly at the weird texture and leaned forward to get a closer look.

Blue and green scales surrounded his right eye, some scattered on his cheek.

" _What's happening to me...?_ " He rasped, realizing his teeth looked slightly sharper. He ran his tongue underneath them to flinch from the sharpness. Struggling to calm himself, he grabs his phone and shakily starts to dial a number.

Karma ran as fast as he could to Nagisa's home. He received a text message from him, informing the red head that he was not well and that he needed to come as soon as he could. Karma knew that it was probably another fight with his mother, so he stormed over there, face twisted into a snarl. How dare she force Nagisa to become someone he isn't. Karma bolted faster when he got closer and turned to knock on Nagisa's door. As the door opened, Karma's expression eased slightly when he though it was Nagisa.

Though he frowned deeply when his blasted mother answered it. She blinked at him.

"Can I help you?" She asked softly. Karma grit his teeth with impatience.

"I'm a friend of Nagisa's. I forgot that we needed to work on a project together." He said bluntly, hiding his urge to scowl. The woman's gentle gaze quickly began to gloom.

"H—She's been a bad **girl**. Visit another ti—"

"No. I'm sorry, but this project is due tomorrow and Nagisa is a _boy_ , thank you." Having enough of this banter and it was wasting the red-head's time, so he shoved past her, smiling when his back was turned. He ran to what he assumed was Nagisa's room.

"Nagisa?!" He pounded on the door, until he realized it was open. Karma pushed it, seeing a small lump under the covers. He slowly approached it, a huge blast if heat hitting him. Jesus, his room was hot. Karma had to choose whether to guess that he was asleep or awake. As gently as he could manage, he shook his exposed shoulder, only for the lump to stiffen, and suddenly, Karma's arm was grabbed. He smiled when he saw azure eyes glow from the darkness the blankets gave them.

"Hello to you too." He greets, and his friend's eyes soften. Nagisa removed his iron-grip on Karma, and the lump slowly shifted. He saw Nagisa rise up, but the blankets were pulled over and around his face so it looked like he had a gown on.

"K-Karma-kun..." A hoarse whisper came from the covered up boy, and he responded with a slight tilt of his head.

"Yeah?"

"P-Promise me something."

"I'm not really good at making promises, but alright."

"Please...don't _run away_ from me." And with that, Karma saw Nagisa pull off the blankets, exposing his hair that was no longer in pigtails; but down and wild. He turned to face the red-head, only for Karma to widen his eyes slightly.

Nagisa's eyes were a bright, azure; the brightest Karma has ever seen them. So illuminated that he could consider them almost glowing. His right eye was spiraling with scales, a small patch of them on his cheek. Nagisa frowned and turned away, not baring to see his friend, especially Akabane _Karma_.

"I...I'm a monster, aren't I?" His voice was quivering, almost as if he were about to cry. Karma was speechless. He didn't know how to take this.

"I-I don't want this to ruin our friendship, bu—"

"Nagisa. _Stop that._ " Karma growled, and the smaller turned to him quickly.

"You're no monster. Even if you think you are, you're not. Do you act like one?" He asked hardly, staring at Nagisa with narrowed eyes. He shook his head.

"N-No..."

"There's your answer. Besides, you're so innocent you can't even act like one." Karma said playfully, chuckling. Nagisa still had an unsure expression planted.

"But...what about our friendship?" This question cut off Karma's chuckle, and he scoffed.

"Do you actually think some...scales and weird ass eyes could ruin our friendship? Then you're _wrong,_ Nagisa-kun." He replied. "Your eyes actually make you look intimidating. A great skill for an assassin, even if you can determine if you want them to be scary or not." The cerulean haired looked up and smiled, showing off his slightly sharp teeth.

"Thanks, Karma-kun."


	4. Bond

Karma watched as Nagisa slowly climbed out of his bed, comfortable with Karma's presence. He had a baggy t-shirt and boxers that were abit big, despite them being a small. He plopped down across from Karma and shyly looked away. The taller chuckled.

"So, how did you get those scales and weird eyes, hm?" He questioned, making the smaller shift uncomfortably. Karma didn't expect a reply from him, especially if it's too personal. He shrugged it off, tying to change the subject.

"You coming to school tomorrow, or are you gonna skip?" And with that, Karma saw Nagisa's scales bolden, striking upward.

"I...I.." He stammered, unable to come up with a legit reply. Nagisa wasn't sure how his classmates would take his reptile-like attributes. Would they be intimidated? Scared? He wasn't sure. This whole thing was messing with his emotions, so they were rapidly bouncing.

"I don't know..." He admitted. Maybe he could put some make-up on to conceal the scales? But what about his eyes? And his teeth? Nagisa felt frustrated and felt his lips curl in a hiss, then squeaking and covering his mouth, realizing what he had just did. Karma looked amused, his eyes shining.

"Having trouble containing that side of you, hm?" He smirked, leaning back with his arms as support. Nagisa blushed with embarrassment.

"I-I don't even know what side I'm suppose to be containing! What am I turning into...?" He whispered, looking into Karma's eyes for his view on this.

"Well, the most obvious answer is a snake, because of your blood-lust. You may not know this, but that time when you and Sugino were duelling, he tensed up because of your snake blood-lust. It feels as if it's crushing you, and striking at any moment." Karma explained, leaving Nagisa almost speechless.

"Oh...I never knew my blood-lust could have that effect on people, even my classmates.." He muttered, placing his hands in his lap. Karma crossed his arms.

"Everyone has a different type of blood lust. Don't fuss about it." He gets up, and the smaller quickly follows.

"It's late. I'll see you tomor—" he feels a slight tug on his shirt.

"W-Wait!" The scarlet-haired blinked at him blankly, then smirked when he saw the desperation in his friend's eyes.

"What? Still need me?" He muses, his smile widening at Nagisa's surprised expression.

"I...nevermind..." He muttered, making Karma straighten abit.

"Alright. See ya." He waved him off and exited his room. Nagisa flopped on his bed, feeling slightly better when Karma had arrived. He looked up at the ceiling, his eyes slowly dropping from fatigue gnawing at him. Feeling relaxed, the smaller fell asleep with a small smile on his face.

—

Nagisa awoke with a sudden burning pain in his leg. He hissed, his face scrunched up with agony. He sat up and tried to bare through it, but hell it was tough. It felt as if your leg was slowly being burned by red, hot lava. As he stood up from his bed, he realized he had to go to school looking like...this. Panic surged through him, replacing the pain he once felt.

"Maybe I could cover up the scales with...some of mom's make up?" He wondered aloud, considering the thought. He turned towards the door that lead out towards the kitchen. He peeked through the small opening to see nobody around. With a small pull of the door, Nagisa walked silently towards his mother's bedroom, observing that she was still asleep. He darted towards the bathroom without making the floor creak in any way. As soon as he was inside, he shuffled through her make-up kit, trying to find the concealer.

"Ah!" He whispered went he fished it out of the pink bag and stuffed it in his pocket. Slowly zipping up the bag, he opened the door and slunk out of his mother's bedroom. He began to beam with victory; he made it without being caught. Like an assassin. And with that accomplished, he left the hallway for his room, and closed the door.

He started to undress, feeling dysphoria hit him in the gut when he saw his chest. It disgusted him, he was made wrong. Even though he had a very small torso, it still hurt seeing the breasts. He was always a boy, but his biological female parts said otherwise. Huffing with irritation, he grabbed his binder and slipped it on. As soon as he was dressed in his usual attire, he went into his bathroom with the concealer gripped tightly in his hand. He turned on the lights, and opened the cap. Nagisa wasn't a huge fan of make-up, but he had no other choice. Lightly dabbing his index finger onto the skin-coloured top, he started to rub it over his scales. Slowly, he began to layer it until he could no longer see it.

"There...let's hope this works..." He muttered, and washed off his finger and popped the cap back on the concealer. Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he headed towards his bedroom door and exited.

—

Nagisa was relieved when he was the first in the classroom. He hurried to his desk, only to hear a shuffling behind him.

"Ah, Nagisa-kun." The smaller stiffened at the voice, turning to his target, Koro-Sensei. The yellow octopus stared at him.

"H-Hey, Koro-Sensei..." He replied stiffly. The yellow octopus shuffled towards him, his usual smile still planted on his face.

"My, my I see you have your tie on." He observed, raising a tentacle towards his chest. Nagisa sighed with relief; thank god he didn't notice anything.

"Y-Yeah...my mom didn't want me wearing it.."

"If that is the case, I suggest you and I have a talk while we wait for the other students to arrive. Come." Koro-Sensei turned to exit the room, with Nagisa hesitant on wether he should go or not. His secret could be revealed, and even worse his mother would be notified.

He tugged on his grey pants and shrugged his shoulders shyly. Why must he talk? Should he reveal it to his teachers?

"Nagisa? Are you coming?" The distant voice of the octopus sliced his thoughts, with Nagisa still unsure. But, he knew deep down that it was time he, Mr. Karasuma and Bitch-Sensei should know the truth.

"Koro-Sensei?" Nagisa squeaked out, his throat dry from the anxiety that consumed him. He looked up to see his teacher looking down at him.

"There is something you should know about me."


	5. Truth & Suspicion

"What is it, Nagisa-kun?" He waited patiently for an answer, folding his tentacles neatly over one another. Nagisa breathed deeply, and exhaled. He wasn't sure how Koro-Sensei would react to this, though he hoped it was a positive response. He looked at his teacher right in the eyes, and took another deep breath.

"I...I was originally born a girl." He blurts, quickly cowering abit. Though, as soon as those words left his mouth, Nagisa felt weights lift off his chest. It felt good. The octopus seemed to be at a standstill, his face not shifting from his angry, black or red color.

"Nurfufu~I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me. You're a wonderful student, Nagisa-kun, and that will not change a thing. Are you planning to tell the class?" He questioned. Nagisa just looked to the side and folded his hands into his lap.

"I...I'm just afraid of their reaction. What if they see me more as a girl then a guy because I was born biologically female?" Koro-Sensei seemed to nod in consideration.

"I'm sure everyone is on board, Nagisa. They are your fellow classmates, and you all have been through so much together; it would be dreadful to see that bond snap." He points out, making the smaller feel a bit better about the outcome. Nagisa smiled gently.

"Thanks, Koro-Sensei—" a tentacle was placed on his shoulder, making his smile disappear.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" The alien's tone was a tad serious now, and Nagisa must've shown him his pointed teeth when he smiled.

Shit.

"N-No..." He said quickly and turned, making the yellow tentacle raise off him. The young assassin rushed to his seat and tapped his foot to wait for the rest of his classmates to come in. As he side-glances towards the doors, his eyes catch a familiar red-head. Karma seemed to notice him and Nagisa shivered at his gaze.

"Hey, Nagisnake." He mused, making the cerulean haired curl his lip when others looked to his greeting.

"Karma..." He warned, narrowing his eyes, which didn't seem to scare the taller even the slightest bit. It only fed his smug smile to grow.

"Come on, you have to admit it was pretty well thought out." He said, tilting his head to the side. Nagisa just huffed.

"Just not when everyone is here. They'll start suspecting something's up."

"Suspecting what?" The duo faced a certain blonde who sat at the pair of seats vertically from Nagisa. She looked at him with a curled fist placed under her cheek, grinning something similar to Karma's.

"N-Nothing!" Nagisa waved his hands infront of him, eyes wide. Rio just chuckled in response.

"You sure, or are you thinking about wearing my skirt again~"

"We've just talked about that!"

"But you have to admit, you look good in a skirt." Karma joined in, making Nagisa become a flustering mess. Why must he add things like that? Nagisa probably looked like a huge idiot right now with his face burning up.

"N-Not you too!"

* * *

After English with Bitch-Sensei, everyone gathered at the field, standing around their gym instructor.

"This game is all about stealth and complete awareness to your surroundings." Karasuma-sensei informed when Class-E was around him with open ears. He raised a hand, that was coated in a red paint.

"The game is simple; survive without being tagged. I will tag you by stamping my hand on your clothing." His other hand held a shirt, which he placed his hand onto, releasing it to see a red hand-print. Mr. Karasuma looked at his students.

"You've all been training hard. It's time to see if your skills have paid off." As he said that, Karma tilted his body towards Nagisa, his eyes still on his teacher. His blue eyes scanned his bronze ones; that were gazing out into the distance.

"This is where your little snake skills will come into play." He whispered, making the smaller whip his head to him. Since when was Karma so obsessed with his...snake..abilities?

"I-I don't think that will happen. Besides, I don't even know what I can do with...these abilities and I don't want to find out." He muttered timidly. Karma gave a light snicker.

"If you insist." He leaned away from Nagisa's side and the blue-eyed male sighed, looking towards the forest Class E was about to dash into. As he thought that, he saw his classmates stand up, and a whistle was blown, triggering Nagisa's legs to bolt towards the trees. Blood pounded in his ears; and he started to run. As he and his classmates fled, a weird sensation brush against his core. It made him feel as if he had no boundaries, allowing him to roam the forest freely. As he set foot on the new terrain, he felt his heart pound, as if it had given him an energy boost.

He could feel the sudden power in his legs as he sprinted through the trees, bounding up and under obstacles. He stopped for a split second to see if anybody was behind him, and thankfully, nobody was. When he stopped to breathe, he felt his phone vibrate. He fished it out of his pocket and saw the face of his fellow digital classmate, Ritsu.

"Three out of thirty caught." She announced, showing the faces of the unlucky trio. Nagisa hissed through clenched teeth. This game is already getting heated.

"This is bad. Two minutes in and three have already been caught." He whispered, tucking away his phone back into his pocket. Nagisa concluded that he couldn't stay in one spot; for he could be one of Mr. Karasuma's next victims. Standing up, he returned to running away from the hunter. Nagisa knew that if he were caught now, he wasn't good enough. His skills would lack a pro's.

"Just focus, Nagisa..." He puffed to himself, latching onto a tree branch and hoisting himself up to a sturdy branch up high. The smaller breathed carefully as he scanned his surroundings. To his surprise, he sees amber eyes staring back at him to the tree across from him. As he lifted his head, he noticed green hair that followed when the pair of eyes turned.

"Kayano." He sighed with relief. She was still in. Thank goodness. He and Kayano were good friends, and she had the skills of an assassin, no doubt. He looked up...er, down to her as a fellow classmate and a dear friend. She had a similar smile to his; sweet and innocent; seemingly fragile until you realize they have you in a mental checkmate. When that happens, it's game over. Letting his own thoughts run wild, he hears a nearby yelp. Shooting upwards, his initial reaction was to jump out of the tree, which was a bad idea as he did so out of panic.

Nagisa felt himself fall to the ground, grunting as dirt brewed up around him. He coughed, raising his head. He pushed himself to his feet and stumbled slightly as he started to quicken his pace. He needed to find a hiding spot, and fast.

* * *

Karma waited lazily on a tree branch, his arms folded over his head. He hasn't moved since, and yet here he is; still untagged and calm as a currentness pond. Even if he wasn't tagged yet, he still remained sternly alert. Mr. Karasuma is a crafty son of a bitch; and he could sneak up on Karma if his observations weren't as effective. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what his little snake was doing.

Little snake...

He smirked at the nickname he gave Nagisa. Slowly, his friend was becoming a fearsome serpent based off his bloodlust. It, however scared Karma abit, knowing that the calm and timid boy he had met in Class D was dissolving into the boy who had the stone-cold glare of a snake; and possibly, the personality of one.

"Hm. Quite strange, yet very interesting at the same time." He thought aloud, bouncing his leg over his knee. Just as he was beginning to relax, he heard the sound of a bush rustle, and still not dropping his alertness, turned to it. Karma peered to where he thought it had come from. He suspected it was Nagisa, but he froze when he saw two, cloaked figures running ahead. The scarlet-haired chuckled.

"Let's ditch this game and play a round of cat and mouse, shall we?"


	6. A Game Ends

Karma narrowed his eyes in the direction of the two mysterious men. He could tell if someone was acting fishy or not, and these two played the part. The scarlet haired continued to eye his prey from above, keenly observing his surroundings incase Mr. Karasama decided to interfere with him. The coast was clear, and Karma leaped from his hiding spot and followed the two men casually. He didn't really care if they saw him, he could snap their necks if he wanted to.

But he needed answers, first. Why were these two wandering around? They looked like they were up to something, and Karma just couldn't resist following them. He continued on their trail until he saw the two walk into an abandoned building deep within the forest. He raised a brow curiously; the old hospital has been abandoned for decades. Why would such people be interested in a dump like this? Karma had now lost his sense of curiosity. Turning on his heel, he began to walk back to his spot.

As he was climbing, he saw familiar blue pigtails sticking up from a bush.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun!" Karma yelled, making them squeak at the sudden response. His pigtails were now fluffed up abit, like a cat whose been sprayed with water. Nagisa peeked out from the bush, his face red with embarrassment.

"K-Karma-kun!" He stammered quietly, eyes wide with fear. His hands were tucked to his sides, curled into fists. Karma had to admit, he looked pretty cute when he's flustered. The taller mused from his branch, crossing a leg over his knee.

"Why are you in that bush? I can see your blue hair from a mile away; and so could Mr. K." He points out, making the smaller cringe.

"Aah-I didn't know they were showing...j-just trying to..." He continued to stutter his words, making them almost unclear to Karma. He knew that Nagisa was shy and all, but damn was he nervous. What was up with him?

"Why don't you come up here and chill with me?" He patted the branch, which had space for a second person. Nagisa nods, slinking towards the tree and climbed up. He hoisted himself beside Karma and sighed.

"Thanks." He smiled his famous, innocent grin, his slightly sharp teeth glinting.

"Ah, it's not a problem. Snakes need to hide in trees anyway."

"K-Karma! That's not funny! Stop referring to me as a snake!"

"How can I not? You look like one." He added, gently pressing a finger onto Nagisa's cheek. The smaller seemed to stiffen at the action, fingers wrapped around his arms. Karma didn't seemed fazed by it.

"Something the matter?" He asked curtly, his eyes scanning for any sort of spike in Nagisa's expression. However, as he looked, the smaller's head seemed to snap upward, his mouth slightly agape along with his eyes going wild with surprise. Karma whipped his head towards the direction his friend dazed at, and saw Mr. Karasuma speeding towards them. Nagisa squeaked and quickly jumped out of the tree, leaving Karma alone. As his teacher got closer, the delinquent chuckled and hopped off his branch, before grabbing another down below and swinging his form away from Mr. Karasuma.

"So long, teach!" He saluted the man with a quick swipe of his fingers. Mr. Karasuma gave him a sharp nod of his head in respect, and darted off into the forest beyond. Karma smirked.

"Too sweet; he let me go." He mused, shoving his hands in his pockets casually while taking small strides into the forest.

The game finally ended. Only 10 people were left, the rest fell victim to Mr. Karasuma and his red markings. Everyone was exhausted, hot breathes and the reek of BO filled the hair, making Karma slightly uncomfortable. He wasn't tired at all, to be honest. Being in a tree for most of the game couldn't do much of a work out.

"Nurufufu~How did they do, Mr. Karasuma?" The tired faces of Class-E turned to a certain yellow octopus, who seemed to be beaming towards the students with pride.

"They did well, I should say. Even if they were caught, some managed to outsmart me and manoeuvre their way around the forest to get away. Like real assassins. I am quite proud." He told him, folding his arms over his chest before quickly trying to stab Koro-Sensei with a hidden knife. Though with his Mach 20 speed, Koro-Sensei grabbed the blade with a cloth.

"That's great news. It seems your training may push them towards the goal of killing me sooner." He said, turning to his students. Karma thought about those two men, whom weren't all who they seem to be. Something was up. Could they be after something, someONE? Oh, the thought of killing them with his own hands was making the delinquent's lips twitch into a grin that was showing off his small canines. A light tap on the shoulder made him turn quickly, hearing a squeak from the tapper.

"K-Karma...are you feeling okay?" Nagisa asked, voice hinged with concern. The scarlet haired erased his smile, only smirking slightly.

"Little snake is worried about me? How precious. And to answer your question, I'm alright. No need to worry." He replied, making Nagisa look into his eyes for a couple seconds before pulling away.

"O-Okay..." He said uncertainly, placing his hands in his lap, head drooping abit. The bell sounded the end of the school day, and as the smaller watched Karma rise up to leave, Nagisa couldn't help but bite his tongue.


	7. Emotions

"K-Karma-kun! Wait up!" Nagisa pushed himself to his feet with his bag strapped over his shoulders. The scarlet-haired boy stopped and turned to the azure-haired who was already a few feet away from him.

"Hey, Nagisa-kun. What's up?" He greeted, continuing to walk with his friend beside him. He wasn't really the one for company, but he and Nagisa met when they were both in Class D. It's a shame though, he thought, eyes trailing down to the azure haired boy.

His pigtails were fluttering in the breeze, bouncing up and down when he took a step forward. Karma admired Nagisa; he had the natural skill of an assassin with his ability to mask his bloodlust, able to strike at any possible moment. Though, now that Karma thought about it, he does resemble a snake. His size can easily throw off enemies and lung at them with a powerful poison they never thought it had.

"I..I was just concerned about you back there." His shaken voice cut off Karma's mind from wandering any further. He started to slow down, until he finally stopped.

"Eh, I'm alright." He told Nagisa, shoving a hand in his pocket to fish out a Swiss Army knife. The smaller didn't seem fazed by the weapon at all, nor did he even flinch at the sight of it being brought up into the light.

"A-Are you sure? I...never saw your face make an expression like that." Nagisa replies timidly, eyes still on the blade Karma was gripping. But, he said nothing in response.

Karma flung a blade out, gentle tracing a finger over the scythe; concluding how dull it was.

"Hm." Voices seem to snicker at them, and Karma turned to see two Class D students stare at them.

"Is that Nagisa? Wow, she looks like a girl than ever. Fucking..." Karma stopped listening when he felt something grip his blazer. It was none other than the androgynous boy himself; whose eyes were closed shut, mouth twitching into a frown. He never saw Nagisa so upset at people just taking notice of him.

"Tsk. She's certain to fail, even if she is even in the lowest class and a faggot." That's when Nagisa gripped tighter, his mouth moving slightly.

"Stop it, stop it, stop..." He choked out quietly, biting his lip. Karma frowned slightly and turned to the two antagonizers. He approached him with his knife in hand and twirled it.

"Hey, fellas. I heard you want my friend here to feel shit, hm?" He flicked his blade out and his grin turned twisted.

"You see, my blade is quite dull. Maybe I should sharpen it on your bones, hm?" He pointed the knife at them, making them go wide-eyed.

"W-We didn't kno—" one tried to reason with him, but Karma just placed the knife under the boy's neck, cracking a laugh.

"You didn't know? And I thought you guys were smarter than us..." The two Class D students squeaked with fear and ran off, commencing Karma's smile to soften slightly.

"Tsk. I didn't get to sharpen my..." Soft sobs made him speechless, and the scarlet-haired turned to Nagisa, whose arms were wrapped tightly around his stomach, as if he was about to throw up. His breathing was struggling to soften. Karma never saw Nagisa cry, didn't even think of someone like him to. Nagisa wiped his tearful azure eyes, avoiding Karma's half concerned gaze.

"S-Sorry about this. I must be a...r-real baby, huh?" He smiled grimly, laughing restlessly with more beads of tears following him. Karma felt something grow inside his chest. What was this feeling? Concern? Pity? A mischievous, cruel person like Akabane Karma never had felt these feelings swell inside him, nor did he realize they could exist. Slowly, he approached his friend and lifted his chin. Tilting his head upward, Karma saw that he didn't meet Nagisa's blue eyes, for they were shielded by his eyelids.

"Nagisa...open your eyes..." He coaxed quietly, making the smaller whine slightly.

"N-No..."

"Come on. Pretty please?"

Nagisa hesitated. But, he obeyed and slowly opened his eyes, quickly placing a hand over his right one. Karma frowned and removed his hand, revealing his snake like eye. It was absolutely breathtaking; who knew that green and blue could blend so perfectly.

"Your eye is really quite stunning, Nagisa. Why hide it?" He muttered, wiping the remaining tears off the smaller's red cheeks. Immediately, the boy blushed a faint red tint when Karma's hand met his skin. Maybe he was so sensitive about the scales he just touched.

Karma said nothing, until he broke the silence after staring into Nagisa's eye for a while.

"Okay, Nagisa-kun. You're coming to my house."


	8. Warmth

"O...Okay..." He squeaks out, making Karma smirk with amusement. The red haired always enjoyed Nagisa's reactions; especially when they're from being flustered or even small stammers of pure shyness. Karma draped his arm over the smaller's shoulder, feeling him straighten himself from the touch.

"Nagisa. It's okay." He coaxed softly, allowing his form to grow relaxed following a gentle breathing pattern. The blue haired boy turned to Karma.

"S-Sorry...I'm just very s-sensitive right now..." His little hisses when he pronounced the "S" sound was oddly charming, making Karma smile even more. Maybe this mutation wasn't so bad after all.

"Don't worry about it." He replied bluntly, walking forward with Nagisa close to the side of his body. The wind decided to make itself noticeable and make its way towards the two, gusting at their blue and red hair. It was gentle and cool; refreshing the duo as they made their way towards Karma's home. Neither of them spoke on the way, but as soon as they walked to the doorstep, Nagisa started to quiver; the movement transferring towards Karma's body. His eyes looked to the shivering blunette.

"Nagisa? Are you—" he froze in mid-speech when the young assassin's lips started to turn a blue, followed by the chattering of his sharp teeth. Karma could see the life out of Nagisa drain before him, and before the smaller could protest, Karma grabbed his arm and hoisted him into a bridal position. Cold temperatures struck him, as if they were needles being punctured into the skin at once. Quickly shutting the door, Karma bolted to his bedroom, placing the half-snake onto the bed. He began to gather blankets and quilts in attempt to warm up the cold boy, but no avail.

"Fuck..." He spat, digging his fingers into his scalp. Nagisa is an easy target for hypothermia to strike, for a human could only survive a few minutes in freezing temperatures. Karma didn't have much time. He needed to heat Nagisa up before...

No. He shouldn't think that! Nagisa's strong, he thought, glancing over at the boy, who was wrapping the blankets around him to calm down his wild shakes and warm his body up. Karma looked around the room, to spot his thermostat that was hidden behind Nagisa's head. The delinquent darted towards the temperature controller and gripped the dial, twisting it to a much warmer temperature. Then, he looked to Nagisa to see if it had any effect.

Only chattering teeth meant a no, so Karma was left to his last option. He began to climb into the bed and pulled Nagisa close to him, making him squeak out.

"K-Karma?" He asked aloud, curling his legs. The taller just wrapped his hands around Nagisa's chest, trying to warm up his body using an old tactic: body heat.

"Don't speak, Nagisa. Just try and relax..." Karma soothed, shuffling closer. A small, and soft hiss was the smaller's response. Karma didn't want to think about the death of his good friend if this plan failed. All he did, was focus on his heart beat. Every pound kept Nagisa alive.

Thump

Thump

Thump

It was almost like a rhythmic tune, with every beat came another just like it.

Thump

Thump

Thump

Karma inhaled, silently focusing on the half-snakes heart beat. If it were to slow down, that's when Karma needed to further his attempts of warming up Nagisa.

"K-Karma-kun..." A small voice piped up, snapping Karma from his train of thought. The red head tilted his head to one side, seeing Nagisa smile at him. The innocent smile that filled his face that was oh so recognizable.

"T-Thanksss." His voice sounded hoarse. Karma just smiled, and continued to warm up Nagisa until his shivers eased, and his body temperatures rose. The azure haired shuffled under the covers, turning towards Karma and looked straight into his bronze eyes. His slitted eye thinned out, making Nagisa wince and slap a hand over it. Karma immediately shot upwards and stood by him.

"M-My eye...it feels like—" A bee-like stinging reaction make him flinch, crying out in agony. He felt his muscles tense up, and his mouth open wide.

That was when Nagisa felt his vision blur, with echoing screams ringing in his ears.


	9. Becoming

Karma reared back with alarm at the blunet's sudden snarl. His humanized eye was slowly glowing, the pupil slimming out. Karma could see Nagisa ever so slightly twitch, bloodlust swimming in those blue eyes he thought were tame minutes ago.

Nagisa rose up from the bed, gripping the bedsheets in struggle as his body twitched again statically, almost like he was trying to fight. His arms were tense when his nails dug into the pale blue sheets, knuckles turning white by the second.

Why is he...?

Karma frowned and walked cautiously towards the smaller, whom hissed in warning as the scarlet haired approached.

"D-Don—" another, deadly hiss cut his speech short, whipping his head to the side to avoid Karma's gaze.

"Nagisa! What's going—" a blue blur came towards him and pinned him to the ground. Bronze eyes met with dangerous, teal ones. Nagisa dug his nails into Karma's shoulder, hooking onto his blazer with all his strength, although it wasn't strong enough to pin Karma down.

"Nagisa! What the hell is wrong with you?" Karma shoved him off roughly, the strength in the push coming into play as Nagisa slammed backwards onto the bed, hissing even louder than before. Rage never occurred in Nagisa's eyes, other than the time he let his bloodlust take over when he was fighting against Takaoka.

Bloodlust...

He glanced down at Nagisa who seemed to be tangled in the sheets, and was thrashing around wildly to get himself freed. Karma didn't have the slightest on what to do. He has dealt with many violent people; but this was an entirely different story.

This was Nagisa Shiota.

Karma just watched as the blunet screeched, his mouth agape in a twisted, agonizing frown. Small, dagger-like fangs glinted out from underneath his lips, making Karma tense up.

What was this emotion he was feeling?

As if his stomach was slowly sinking; or his gut was being dipped into acid. That was the feeling. Fear maybe? No. It couldn't be. The small voice within his head told him to no longer become involved with the half-snake, but Karma pushed it away.

"No." He seethed through clenched teeth. This made Nagisa's head perk up, eyes now focused on the scarlet haired. Bright, azure eyes scanned him, blinking ever so slightly as Nagisa continued to eye his prey.

"Nagisa. Listen to me. Snap out of this, now." Karma demanded sharply, attempting to somehow call to the boy and make him come back to his senses. Though, this only brewed an even bigger storm, for the half-snake hissed even louder and thrashed around to get anywhere near Karma. The sheets began to unwind; time was running out.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" He scrapped his nails along his scalp and held onto strands of his short, red hair. His heart began to pound, pressure beginning to over-throw Karma's quick thinking. The delay allowed Nagisa to finally untangle from the sheets, falling to the ground and hissing at Karma's feet. He sprang upward, in hopes of taking a chunk of flesh out of Karma, but he was met with...

Open arms.

Nagisa struggled in Karma's death grip, hissing loudly and biting at Karma's sleeves. The scarlet haired boy only endured the pain and squeezed tighter, bronze eyes focused on Nagisa's azure hair that was standing upward in aggression.

"You're better than this." Karma spoke quietly making Nagisa tense. He stopped his nipping and thrashing, leading to the conclusion of Karma's sentences actually getting through to the smaller boy.

"The Nagisa I know would never hurt anyone." He whispered in the half-snakes ear gently, getting nothing in response. Karma kept repeating moving words to help Nagisa fight for dominance as he held his head in agony.

"Come on, Nagisa-kun! Fight it!" He encouraged loudly, holding the boy tightly as he began to moan. A final scream escaped Nagisa's lips before he laid limp in Karma's arms. The scarlet haired frowned and touched a hand to feel for a heartbeat.

Thump

Thump

Thump

A small smile grew on the taller boy's lips.

"That's my brave little snake."

Pain. That was all Nagisa had felt when he awoke to absolute darkness. He had no recollection of passing out, so how could this be?

"Hello?" He called out into the endless void, in hopes of getting an answer to help his loneliness vanish.

Silence.

Nagisa sighed deeply, blinking his eyes in hopes of waking up from this awful dream. Each time he did so, nothing would change.

Everything was still black.

Panic arose in Nagisa's stomach, causing him to instinctively wrap his arms around his abdomen and force his eyes shut.

"I-It's just a dream, it's just a dream..." He muttered over and over, his palms starting to become sweaty. As he opened his eyes once more, a large creature stood across from him. It was coiled up, staring at the boy with teal slitted eyes that could pierce someone's soul.

They looked oddly familiar.

Before Nagisa could speak, the creature leaped, and the boy was met with large fangs and a loud hiss.

The boy awoke with a sharp gasp of air. He shot upward with his eyes wide and teary. Then, he felt something warm touch his hand.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." A familiar voice cleared the worry and fear that clouded in his tummy, and Nagisa turned to none other than Karma Akabane. He had a playful smirk on his face.

"How...long was I asleep?" The blue haired muttered as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Eh, I lost count. But maybe a few hours. You looked pretty cute when you sleep though."

"Y-You were watching me sleep?!" Nagisa tensed up with embarrassment, heat rising on his cheeks. Who knew his old friend could be so protective?

"I had to. You could've woken up again and cause more issues..." The taller junior high student placed a hand onto his forehead.

"M-More issues? What do you m-mean by that?" Nagisa squeaked in response, only for Karma to cross his arms and look away. Nagisa felt guilt flood his chest as he stared at Karma worriedly.

"K-Karma-kun?"

No response.

"W-what issues?" Nagisa asked a little louder, but the delinquent just shut his eyes and curled his lip a bit. The half-snake felt himself struggling to hold back a frustrated hiss as he opened his mouth again.

"K-Karma!" He shouted, glaring daggers at the stubborn red head, who immediately turned to him with eyes flooded with fury.

"You tried to hurt me, dammit!" He yelled, making Nagisa flinch at his sudden change in tone. Karma curled his fists and narrowed his eyes.

"You went insane...I don't know what to fucking do anymore!" He spread his fingers out, and ran them through his hair roughly. Nagisa just stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide and still processing at Karma's outburst.

"I...t-tried to hurt you?" He whimpered, looking down at his hands that had little speckles of scales. He was becoming something inhuman.

He was becoming a monster

Tears started drip down Nagisa's cheeks, his tiny frame quivering at the fact he had learned. He blinked a few times to make sure it wasn't just an never ending nightmare, but it only made his tears leak faster, making his believed nightmare even more real. Constant anxiety contaminated his insides, his throat becoming almost clogged.

"I...I didn't..." He forced his hands down to his sides and looked away, teeth gritted into a miserable frown. His eyes didn't even want to look at Karma; at those bronze eyes that lingered with disappointment. Nagisa just turned his back to his old friend and tightened his fists.

"I...I'm s-sorry...!" And with that, Nagisa bolted out of the room, leaving Karma all alone, with his head down in shame.


	10. Coiled

It's been days ever since Nagisa and Karma had fought. The two have been hesitate towards one another; especially Nagisa. The boy had never been that timid before, even when he and Karma first met in Class D because the two shared an intrest in a superhero movie. The scarlet haired just laid back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head, not caring about the lesson Korosensei was teaching. Instead, he just looked at his blue-headed friend, who on the other hand was paying attention.

Karma just huffed and twirled the knife in his hand up and down, catching the handle once it fell back down so he could fling it back up again. Then, a gust of wind pasted him and blew off his concentration on juggling the knife, and dropped it onto the floor, attracting his classmate's attention.

"Karma-kun, are you not paying attention to my lesson?" The yellow octopus prompted, eyes fixated on the delinquent in front of him. Karma just smiled.

"I already know about this stuff. My test results say it all, teach." He replied smoothly, making Korosensei grin with green stripes.

"Alright then. I expect you to do well on the test next week~" he shuffled back to the blackboard.

Gym was after Math class. Mr. Karasuma had everyone to try and "stab" him with the anti-sensei knife. Many close attempts, but none could lay a rubber blade on him. They were just junior high students; while Karasuma-sensei was a highly trained super human. Karma, who was skipping the session observed his friend from afar, with his arms folded over his chest. With exams approaching closer towards Class E, all the young assassins have been working harder to assassinate their target; Korosensei and learn the material that will be on the exam.

Karma could see the effort Nagisa was putting in as he attempted to jab the rubber blade, and he could see why the half-snake was able to assassinate Takaoka like a pro, from what he had heard from his other classmates when he had ditched that class.

"He's a natural." Karma had whispered to himself, tapping the bark of the tree he was leaning against. Nagisa was weak physically, and Karma could well beat him in hand-to hand combat. Bronze eyes went into thin slits as the scarlet-haired boy noticed that Nagisa's eyes were a familiar color.

A bright cyan.

Bloodlust loomed over the class, and everyone seemed to grow uneasy at it. They seemed to shiver as if they were dipped into freezing cold water. The bloodlust Nagisa was forming was remarkably strong; even Mr. Karasuma looked concerned. Just as the blunet went in for the kill, Mr. Karasuma flipped him over his shoulder and the boy toppled onto the ground. The instructor looked down at the boy with wide eyes.

"I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" He asked, as Nagisa rubbed his head where it hurt.

"I-I'm okay." He gave his teacher a reassuring smile, and the class continued as Karasuma-sensei helped him up. Karma glared at Nagisa, whom stared back with his azure eyes.

"Tsk." A small huff escaped Karma's mouth and the red-head turned on his heel and strolled deeper into the wilderness.

Nagisa had seen Karma venture into the dense forest; and had begun to search for him. He didn't come back to class; but this was English class. Karma didn't seem to mind it, so why was he so late?

"Karma?" He called, cupping his mouth so that his voice would cover a larger area with an amplified volume. Nagisa waited for a reply, but nothing came. With a huff, he continued in search for the red head. He had grown worried; and it forced Nagisa to search even harder. Then, as he came across the swimming pool, he saw Karma sitting under a shady spot. His arms were folded behind his head to act as a cushion, his eyes closed with his chest rising up and down at his soft breaths.

Nagisa knitted his brow and walked towards him, leafs crunching under his shoes, making Karma open one of his eyes.

"Nagisa." He said sharply, making the smaller boy stiffen.

"S-Sorry I woke you, but I got w-worried! I didn't see you in class so I thought you skipped." He paused, waiting for a reply, but continued when Karma didn't react.

"W..what are you doing here so deep into the forest?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Why the hell would you care if I didn't show up in class?" She shot back at him, the azure-haired flinching at his harsh tone. What did he say to set him off?

"I-I was just—"

"You know what, I don't want to hear it." He rose to his feet, towering over Nagisa.

"You've been acting all high-and-mighty recently and it's starting to piss me off. It's always the talented ones who start to get nosey and full of themselves."

"T-That's not true, I—"

A pale hand met with Nagisa's chest, bounding him backwards. Karma had just shoved him. His lip was curled into a threatening snarl, making Nagisa want to hiss back, but he forced himself to keep his mouth shut. He doesn't want to cause anymore conflict.

"If you're so talented, then we can fight right here." Another rough shove sent Nagisa into a tree, a pained squeak escaping his lips. He glared daggers at Karma and furrowed his brow, fangs bared.

"I don't want to fight. I just want to talk!" He shouted, his pigtails flaring up as his tone sharpened. He didn't hear Karma object, so he spoke again.

"What happened between us? Are you upset that I ran off? Upset that I..." A distant thought ran through his head. He began to choke on his words and looked away, wiping his eyes.

"I just want you to be unharmed. That is why I began avoiding you these days." He muttered, frowning at the ground. Nagisa had to admit, he was truly a monster. Staring down at his hands reminded him of what he is becoming; which made his heart twist. If his bloodlust is this deadly, then he is too. He hated hurting people; even if it was necessary. Nagisa took a breath in.

"I know you can't forgive me but I—" He felt something push him to the ground, his face meeting the grass. He groaned and as he was about to get up, a foot forced him downward. He could hear someone else struggling.

"What do we have here?"

Oh no.

"Did you come looking for your dear old dad?"

No, no, no.

Nagisa could almost sense a smile crawl up his former PE teacher's face.

"Well, your search is over, because your dad has found YOU." Takaoka snarled, and all Nagisa saw was his in coming foot, and then darkness blinded him.

Nagisa felt himself wake up from his slumber. He felt the floor, and realized it didn't have any grass blades brushing against him, but a cold, and smooth texture. He pushed himself up, and his eyes were wide at his surroundings.

He was in some sort of cage; thick glass blocking him in. Machines outside his cage looked almost too advanced for the blunet to understand, but they seemed dangerous. Nagisa began to panic when he realized that Karma wasn't in his cell; or anywhere to begin with.

"K-Karma-kun!" He screamed, banging on the glass with his fists. The translucent wall didn't seem to shake, or even crack.

"Break it!" A voice scolded, making Nagisa step back with surprise. It was a strange mix of a small squeak and a hiss, almost sounding unnatural. Nagisa looked around for the speaker of the voice.

"W-Who..."

Suddenly he felt himself hiss, and his body launch forward and slam against the glass. He cried out in pain; unable to stop himself. His fists banged harder on the glass, but no avail. His body became in his control again as he crumbled to the ground with weakness.

"Why are so many horrible things happening?" He whimpered, eyes lowered to the ground. He just wanted to leave this place already.

He..He wanted to be with Class E.

"Nobody is going to find you, you know." The voice spoke curtly, almost sounding as if the speaker was right beside Nagisa. The blunet folded his arms over his chest in worry.

"T-They'll find us..I-I know it." He replied; a hint of confidence swimming in his tone. No reply, but a small chuckle of amusement. Feet began to shuffle and Nagisa looked up once again, staring into the eyes of Takaoka.

"My, my, you sure have grown." He said, examining the boy with interest, eyes scanning his snake-like features. He covered himself up as best as he could.

"Let me go, Takaoka." He rasped, earning a mused cackle from the gruesome teacher.

"Now why would I do that? After you humiliated me with your cheap tricks?!" He slammed a fist against his cell, the sound straining Nagisa's ears. He covered then and began to wince.

"Every time I think about that face; it makes me so itchy!" He began to scratch the sides of his face and neck, tearing off the skin that was in the midst of healing. Nagisa just opened his eyes and removed his hands from his ears.

"You deserve to be taught a lesson, boy! And I know just how to do it!" He leaned towards a door and grabbed a familiar red head, who was passed out. Nagisa grit his teeth. How dare he!

"You leave Karma out of this." He hissed, eyes narrowing into thin slits. Takaoka raised a brow.

"I see it worked." He spoke. Nagisa froze.

"What do you mean?"

"My plan. It worked beautifully. But that was only phase one." He threw Karma towards Nagisa's cage, the chains that were wrapped around him banging against the glass, not fazing Nagisa one bit. The blunet felt his blood boil. After all this time, Takaoka was responsible for this? He made him into this...?

"Kill him." A harsh whisper echoed in the small boy's head, and for a second, Nagisa wanted to do just that. This man; this dangerous man had hurt his classmates, and is now threatening to kill one of them.

"This will speed things up, a bit." A large needle was positioned in his fingers, twirling the blue liquid that was inside it. It made Nagisa snarl.

"What are you going to do to me?" He spat. Takaoka just leaned forward and made a malicious smile.

"I'll show you what it's like to truly, be feared."


	11. You or Him

Nagisa reared back with alarm. His eyes were wild with an unexplained emotion, the patches of scales appearing on his skin.

"What do you mean?" He asked, hands now balled into fists. The blunet will make sure this man will not further his metamorphosis. Takaoka just snarled and held two glass bottles of the same liquid that was in the needle.

"ARE YOU DEAF, BOY?! I WILL FORCE A MONSTROUS TRANSFORMATION UPON YOU, SO YOU CAN KNOW WHAT ITS LIKED TO BE FEARED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!" He shouted, making Nagisa flinch. The blue, slitted eyes he had currently glanced down at Karma, who seemed to be stirring. He felt his hopes of escape rise, and he tried to speed up Karma's awakening. But a swift kick to his head made Nagisa scream, with Takaoka laughing in amusement as he walked away from the two.

—–-

Korosensei glanced worriedly at the classroom. Two of his students didn't show up to Irina's class, but the blonde had told him she had saw Nagisa for a few minutes, but he had managed to slip away. This was very odd for the two of them; especially Nagisa, who had an interest in English. He expected Karma to skip a class, but not two in a row. The boy was smart; so he would've shown up to class by now.

A tug at his usual attire broke him from his thoughts. He looked down at Kataoka.

"Korosensei, we need to find Nagisa and Karma! They could be in danger!" She pleaded with clasped hands, receiving agreed mutters from behind her. The octopus wanted to say that the two are very skilled assassins; and they know what to do if they're in trouble. However, they were still children and they weren't professional assassins yet. Korosensei nodded.

"Alright. But we need to be careful and devise a plan; who knows what we're up against."

"Or who." Isogai spoke up, holding his phone up with Ritsu on his lock screen, who was frowning.

"I have pinpointed their location, and they seemed to be deep within the woodlands. Too dangerous and unknown for them to go un purposely." She informed the class, small mutters of concern brewing within the room. Korosensei scanned all this worried students, and tried to calm them all down.

"Students! There is no need to worry; Nagisa and Karma are very talented and they will be fine. We will get them back safely; even if I have to put myself in grave danger to do so." The yellow octopus promised, giving the class a reassuring smile.

"So, how ARE we going to get them back?" Karasuma spoke up, with Ms. Bitch as his side.

"We may have their location, yes, but where ever they are, their captor is making sure that nobody retrieves them. This could be dangerous for the kids, octopus." Bitch-Sensei added, stepped forward with a hand on her hip.

"I believe our students are ready. They've been taught by the best of the best; Mr. Karasuma trained them hard, and I trust that with what type of skill he has; being passed down to Class E will make them proud and skilled assassins." Korosensei remarked wisely, raising a tentacle. His face began to turn red at the thought.

"And I swear; Class E will make this threat pay for kidnapping their classmates."

Nagisa felt his throat become dry as he bgean to scream more and Takaoka came back to kick Karma into a pulp. He was knocked out; and he looked so defenceless and couldn't fight back. A final kick to his chest and the beating was over. Tears ran down Nagisa's cheeks, his body shaking with rage. His eyes focused on Karma's limp and beat-up body, feeling them slim out.

"Y...You bastard..." He hissed deeply, shooting Takaoka an icy glare; his eyes a bright blue. His former teacher raised a brow in amusement.

"That's the look I want to see! Now, show me how much of a monster you are, child!" He yelled, making Nagisa narrow his eyes and bare his fangs. He started to slam his body against the glass wall, still unable to damage it. As he continued, Takaoka looked bored.

"Tsk. I guess your human side is holding back. What a shame." He shrugged, holding up the needle. He pushed gently, a drop of liquid hanging off the tip of the needle. A cruel smile followed.

"Guess we have to boost its effects." He stepped forward, making Nagisa hiss in warning. Scales began to show in patches of his skin.

"Don't worry; this will just make your snake abilities stronger. Don't you want that? Don't you want to become a feared assassin?" He asked, making Nagisa pause.

"I..." Yes. He wanted to become an assassin; he had a broad talent for it. However, Nagisa hates when people fear him. The thought of the fight he and Karma ran through his head; the first time he saw the red-head have a slight increase of fear on his face. Being half snake; he could also smell his fear which made him shiver at the thought.

"I..I don't want to." He told him, looking Takaoka in the eyes. He started to step back slowly.

"I won't let you!" Nagisa's foot pushed off the ground, flinging himself forward, slamming his side onto the glass at full force. The glass shattered at the impact; sending Takaoka a few feet away. Nagisa curled his lip in a threatening snarl.

"I will not let you! I don't want to be feared! I want to be loved!" He leaped forward, but Takaoka was prepared. Though, not prepared enough. As he made an attempt to grab Nagisa's arm, he slunk under him, and threw him down onto the man. The fangs he bared were now agape, and Nagisa leaned forward to bite him. But the man grabbed Nagisa's neck to stop him, then his arm and threw him into a wall, a loud bang echoing the room. A large intake of air and the blunet had the wind knocked out of him. He fell to the ground and breathed heavily.

"How dare you! What an ignorant brat!" Takaoka spat, eyes blazing with fury.

"That is no way to treat your dad!" He grabbed Nagisa's head by his hair and slammed his face against the wall, blood staining the metallic walls. Nagisa choked, spitting out the crimson liquid. He coughed, holding his chest as more blood was spat out. Takaoka pushed his head down to the ground and kneaded his shoe into his blue hair; the pigtails coming undone.

"Lookie here!" He exclaimed, grabbing Nagisa's long, blue hair and pulling him up by it.

"Who knew that you could be so adorable? Too bad you're always keeping it up." He grabbed a strand of blue hair, with Nagisa grunting with pain.

"What other secrets are you hiding from your dear dad? You can tell me anything!" Takaoka snarled, gripping Nagisa's hair tighter. But the boy refused to speak, so the former teacher had to force his way.

He pinned Nagisa to the floor and started to press down on his chest, making him cry out in pain. He pulled down his uniform under shirt and saw what appears to be a gray, tank top.

"Hm? What is this?" He asked, eyes locked-onto Nagisa.

"I-It's just an under shirt!" He moaned, his bottom lip quivering. However, Takaoka wasn't buying it. He pulled off Nagisa's vest so that only his undershirt was on him. Before he could button down his dress shirt, a blur of red slammed onto the adult, freeing Nagisa from his death grip.

"You sick bastard!" Karma hissed, pinning the teacher down while punching his cheek. Nagisa gasped.

"K-Karma-kun!" He exclaimed. The red head didn't reply, but he continued to beat Takaoka's face in. Though it didn't last long, for Takaoka was stronger and bigger. He grabbed Karma's arm as it swung in, and Takaoka began to twist.

A loud snap was heard, followed by a loud snarl. Nagisa's eyes went wide when Karma looked at his unnaturally bent arm. But he still had another hand that was capable of doing damage. Karma launched another punch straight in Takaoka's jaw. He was blinded by rage; not relying on skill, but purely on beating the adult. Because of this choice of tactics, Takaoka kicked Karma's chest, sending him into a wall.

"Now. Where were we? Ah yes." The former gym teacher grabbed the needle and stepped forward towards Nagisa, who reared backwards.

"Get away from him..." Karma grunted weakly, his eyes narrowed. Mr. Takaoka just chuckled. He walked over to the delinquent and grabbed him. Karma struggled, but Takaoka held him firm. The needle was inches away from Karma's neck.

"You decide, my boy!" Takaoka cackled.

"Either you, or HIM!"


	12. Tension

He could choose Karma. Allow the man to inject his friend with the serum that turned Nagisa into this since square one. Then Nagisa wouldn't have to suffer; he wouldn't be alone because someone suffered with the same thing as him. But what about afterwards? How will Karma treat him then? Would their friendship finally break?

Or he could choose himself. He could allow Takaoka to inject him and turn the blunet into an even bigger monster; and everybody would fear him. His friends would abandon him; would want to kill him. Karma would leave him in the dust. Nobody would love him; care about him. They wouldn't even want to see him alive.

Just like when he was first transferred to Class E.

"Don't do it, Nagisa..!" A hiss cut him off, and Nagisa looked up. Karma glared daggers at him.

"Just let him inject it into me. I'm ready to take it—"

"It's not your decision!" Takaoka snapped. He turned to Nagisa with wide and threatening eyes.

"Better hurry up, brat!" He shouts, leaning the needle closer to Karma. Nagisa felt himself freeze. He usually does well under pressure, even if it's a life and death situation. But this was both Karma and Nagisa's friendship on the line. He didn't want to ruin it; they were too close for it to die out.

It was when Nagisa looked up, bloodlust clear in his eyes. He glared at Takaoka.

"Let him go. Inject me." He said, dangerously calm. Karma's eyes went wide, and Takaoka just smirked.

"I knew you were daddy's good boy." He threw Karma away, and walked towards Nagisa. The blunet looked at his former teacher, a small smile crawling up his lips. He slowly swayed to Takaoka, and finally, his grin deepened. He quickly slunk out of the way and twisted behind Takaoka, knocking him to the ground. He knew his snake abilities made him more agile and quick, so why not use it to his advantage?

As the adult knew what was happening, he fell to the ground and quickly got back up. Nagisa looked at him, the smile he used when he first assassinated Takaoka coming into play.

"You little shit!" He got to his feet and reached for Nagisa, who dodged and raised his leg, side-kicking Takaoka's cheek. He stumbled back, the kick not strong enough to send him to the ground. The man rushed for Nagisa, and reached for his arm. He succeeded, and pulled him close. Nagisa squirmed violently in his grip, screeching and hissing. He saw that the needle was only inches away from his arm, so he struggled as hard as he could.

"Leave him ALONE!" A voice snarled, and Nagisa felt his foe loosen his grip on him, and he used that to kick the needle out of Takaoka's grasp. It flipped in the air, gravity acting on it when it spiralled to the ground. Glass shattered, the liquid spilling out of its casing. Takaoka was beyond pissed as he was knocked down, pinned by none other than Karma Akabane. He looked at the teacher with menacing eyes.

"Oh, you messed with the wrong guy!" He shouted, elbowing Takaoka's jaw with power. Blood spewed from his mouth, making him even angrier. As he shook in Karma's iron grip, the red head whipped his head to Nagisa, who stiffened at his gaze.

"Get something that can bind his movements! Hurry!" But Nagisa didn't move. He just glared down at the struggling teacher, and a small voice in his head said:

"Kill him."

No. He couldn't live with the guilt of killing a person; even if they were cruel. But, this man is dangerous. He hurt him, he hurt KARMA.

Nagisa needed to make a decision. And quick. So he scrambled to find some duct tape, and ran for a back room. As he opened the door, his eyes went wide at the scene.

It looked like a laboratory. A wide, metal table was in the centre, computers functioning almost too perfectly for an old building. Nagisa searched the room, rustling through the various draws that contained empty, glass needles. They looked familiar some how. But he decided to push that aside and focus on the task at hand. He continued to search, and successfully found a roll of duct tape in a drawer and bolted for the other room his friend was in. The first thing he saw was Karma still pinning Takaoka down. He ran to his side to help him, and began to tape his arms.

"Jeez, with your snake speed I thought you'd be faster." Karma joked, smirking at his blue haired friend. Nagisa just blushed at his remark and wrapped Takaoka-sensei's hands together. Their abusive ex-teacher struggled, making Nagisa lose his balance and flip onto Karma, knocking the two down. The two friends found themselves too close for comfort, and both shot up in surprise.

"S-Sorry, Karma-kun..." His voice was like glass; smooth and fragile. Karma just smirked.

"What? You thought we were gonna—"

"Ah, no! Karma, why would you think—" a battle cry rang through the air, and Takaoka leaped for the two. Nagisa and Karma dodged swiftly, maneuvering themselves for an chance to take Takaoka down. It was when the former teacher's attention was on Karma, so Nagisa climbed onto his back and wrapped his arms around the adult's throat. The two fell backwards, with Nagisa still trying his best to maintain his strength. However, he felt Takaoka shift, then pull out something shiny. The next thing the blunet knew was that he felt something weigh down on him. His head hit the marble flooring, making him go almost deaf. His ears began to ring and all he could hear was muffled screams.

Then, pain in his shoulder. Nagisa felt his body tense up, then shake. His breath was caught in his throat as he attempted to breath. His vision began to darken, and all he could think of was one possible explanation:

Takaoka injected him.


	13. Rescue has Arrived

They were located here. Korosensei and his students found themselves deep in the untamed forest, a destroyed laboratory in front of them. Kayano frowned at the sight of it, slightly sceptical.

"Not to be that person, but are you sure they're in here? It looks like it was abandoned to me." She looked up at Korosensei for a response, but a reply came from behind her.

"It is. Their phone coordinates lead here." Kataoka advised, pulling up her phone with Ritsu on the lock screen, pointing to a small blue dot and another red one close by.

"However..." They all turned to Isogai, who frowned. "It could be a trap. We shouldn't take this lightly." A scoff from Teraseka sounded.

"Well even if it is, shouldn't it be...ya know, not destroyed? Seems pretty stupid if you'd ask me." He crossed his arms and looked over at his little group.

"Though it doesn't mean there isn't a threat inside." Itona deadpanned, yellow eyes looking up from the ground. Sugino and Nakamura exchanged worried glances, while others muttered in concern. Korosensei could almost feel the anxiety ripple off his students, making himself get the feeling his heart dropped.

"Don't worry everyone." He said calmly. "We are assassins. Use the skills you have been taught." He said, to try and encourage the class of rejects.

"Trust me." Mr. Karasuma spoke up, with Ms. Bitch beside him.

"You kids are not normal students. You're all trained assassins. Just because you're kids doesn't mean you can't do things adults can. I'm sure you can tackle this no problem." He spoke boldly, while adjusting his arm out of his pocket.

"What does this creep want with two of our students, anyway?" Ms. Bitch sighed, folding her arms along her chest, not enough to cover her revealing top.

"Well, they're the best out of our class. With Karma best at hand-on-hand combat and with Nagisa depending on skill." Chiba said quietly. Korosensei just narrowed his eyes.

"If that is the case, then this foe has plans for those two. Let's hurry, class. And remember the things you were taught!" The whole class vanished into the darkness of the entrance.

His heart told him no; reminded him that he can fight for it. But his head fought back in retaliation, hissing sentences about killing and blood lust.

Nagisa was gripping his hair, a loud scream echoing the room. Karma watched as his friend engaged in a more terrifying transformation: scales that remained on his pale skin, sharper fangs and a long, forked tongue. He was furious with himself. Angry that he couldn't stop Takaoka from turning his friend into this.

"Speak of the bastard..." He hissed and turned to kick the man's head in, rage blinding him. Karma's eyes were ablaze with hate, so he hit harder.

When he was finally down for the count, Karma turned to the blunet, who began to stand as his arms hung limp. His azure hair covered his eyes, and a small, shining grin ran up his lips.

"Nagisa...you have to stop this..." Karma breathed, adrenaline from his fight still pumping through his veins. Though Nagisa didn't seem to reply; let alone understand what Karma was trying to tell him. Instead, he twirled himself forward, fangs out and ready to taste blood. But Karma twisted out of his reach just barely, making the blunet slide with his hand slowing him down against the floor.

"You're better than this!" Karma snapped, but his tone only made Nagisa hiss. The half-snake rushed forward with intense speed and grabbed his neck from behind. Karma gasped and struggled, and thankfully was freed. It was a good thing Nagisa's physical strength was still low. He huffed.

"Stop this, now. I don't wish to hurt you." Karma said as soft as he could manage. The blunet seemed to tense only for a split second until he returned to his hissing stance. Karma took note of this limited reaction.

There could be a way to call out to the smaller boy. The blunet sprang towards the red head who dodged and pinned Nagisa's arms down, back facing him so his deadly fangs couldn't puncture his skin.

The boy hissed, snapping his jaws at Karma's arms. When he was close to biting a piece of flesh off, Karma accidentally tugged at Nagisa's undershirt, that revealed a grey top. Confusion circled over the taller boy. Karma was curious, so he undid Nagisa's white undershirt—

The boy was wearing what seemed to be line a half tank top that flattened his chest.

"The hell?" Karma wondered aloud, and looked at the back of Nagisa's head. What was this blunet hiding? Suddenly, a gust of wind blew behind Karma and the next thing he knew, a familiar chuckle echoed the room.

"Nurfufufu~"


	14. Return

His laughter was only temporary when he has thought the students were just playing. Korosensei looked at his two students, with Karma seemingly struggling to hold Nagisa down, who seemed to be unusually violent.

"K-Karma-kun, what's going on?" The yellow octopus stammered, trying to process the scene before him. Why were his students; especially Nagisa acting so strangely? He was about to lend a tentacle to Karma, but the red head hissed as the blunet almost threw him off.

"Takaoka—that bastard, he did something to Nagisa." He grunted, tilting his head to the unconscious man not too far away. Korosensei could hear the rest of Class E approach the scene.

"Woah, what the?" Sugino frowns, staring at his blue haired friend. Nagisa hissed at Sugino and swiped at him, making the baseball lover flinch back. Karma just tightened his jaw.

"I'll explain later—just help me pin him down!" The delinquent seethed, and his classmates seemed to tense up.

"Wait, why would you want to—" Karma was finally thrown off guard. Nagisa's small, now freed body stood up, glaring at his classmates with slitted, bright blue eyes.

"N-Nagisa...wha.." Kayano gasped, placing two hands over her mouth with shock. The blunet flicked his forked tongue and seemed to scan the teenagers, until he was tackled to the ground by Karma. Nagisa struggled, snapping at Karma's arms. The red head strained to hold the aggressive boy down, until he saw more pairs of hands helping him. Finally, yellow tentacles wrapped around Nagisa, bringing the boy closer to the octopus' chest.

"What in the name of..." Karasuma whispered, glaring down at his student, who bared his fangs at him. Bitch Sensei looked at the struggling boy and raised a brow.

"Looks like a snake." She said, in which everyone took to considering, and began to mutter. Karma's frown deepened.

"We need to bring Nagisa to a hospital straight away!" Kayano pleaded with clasped hands to her teacher, who seemed to be hesitant. The yellow octopus gazed down at his student, who seemed to be tired and no longer resisting. His raspy breaths and hisses were at a minimum.

"I'm afraid we cannot, Kayano-san." Korosensei forced out, eyes clamped shut. He could feel the anger and sadness radiating off his students; most importantly the concern for their fellow classmate.

"Why not?" Karma hissed, gold eyes narrowed.

"Because of Nagisa's appearance. I worry that it could have an affect on whether the doctors could treat him or send him away." The octopus said smoothly. It was true that Nagisa didn't look like a normal human being; and the fact that the doctors would do that made the teacher's face go a light shade of red. He was angry; his student was harmed and there was nothing he could do.

"God dammit.." Teraseka hissed, his folded arms tensing up tighter. His group reacted the same way, including the rest of the class that had a deep bond with the blunet. Nagisa seemed to bite into Korosensei's tentacle; however it didn't seem to faze him.

"This is going to be tricky..." The octopus rubbed one of his tentacles to his head. Karasuma just stepped forward; despite Nagisa's curled lip that translated into a warning to back off. Suddenly, his fingertips pressed against Nagisa's jawline to hit a pressure point. The hissing was cut short seconds later, and the blunet laid limp in Karma's arms, who when wide eyed at his friend.

"What did you do?!" He exclaimed, baring his teeth at his gym teacher.

"I just knocked him out painlessly. It will be easier to transfer him back to the medical room and treat him. You." He glared at Korosensei, who gave a confused noise.

"Is there anyway to treat him without harming him?" He asked, making the octopus grin in response.

"Nurfufu~I may have an idea in mind. I may look just like a teacher; but I studied more than math textbooks." He took Nagisa's small body from Karma's hold and held him close to his chest once more.

"Alright, class! We must get Nagisa-kun back to his normal self."

"Hai!"

Agony.

Regret.

Anger.

Oh god it was truly a toll on his emotions. The jolt of those feelings were strong indeed. Like an electric shock; a virus slowly infecting his body.

Virus.

Ah, yes. When he was first injected, he felt that. Felt like something inside him was slowly corrupting him. He felt his body give in, and so did his mind. He was a monster now. Something that deserves to be in a cage; always watched and contained. The rusty chains bruising his arms as he struggled and choked on sob after sob.

"I'm not a monster!"

"Let me out!"

"Please don't leave me!"

And when somebody were to yell back at him to shut up, he would. Being treated like a dog; an animal. But he was human. He had all human qualities; he could speak.

Though the scales on his skin say otherwise. Human's don't have scales. Or long teeth. Or a forked tongue.

Nobody would love him. Not even his friends, or even his own mother. It was an everlasting hole in his heart when he thinks about his family and friends.

Himself.

H...Him..self.

Tears were coming now. They were ugly and they multiplied as he thought of the abandonment. The regret. The failure. His vision was clogged because of his tears. Nobody would sympathize him either. They would say:

"Monsters don't cry."

"Snakes can't form tears."

But he wasn't a monster. He wasn't a snake.

He wasn't

He wasn't

HE WASN'T...

–-

He awoke with choked sobs. Nagisa frantically shook, blue eyes staring at the bedsheets. His location didn't matter to him; the fact that he was a disgusting thing mattered. He gripped the sheets until his knuckles turned white.

"I...I'm not..." He rasped, the white sheets becoming stained with darker drops of tears. He couldn't control himself. Nagisa bit his lip, unfazed that his teeth were able to draw blood while doing so.

Nagisa was alone in this world.

All alone.

But something made contact with his balled hand. It was another hand on top of his; holding his hand tightly. Nagisa sniffled and followed the arm, to look into golden eyes.

"I missed you..."


	15. Recovery

"K...Karma-kun.." Nagisa felt his throat go dry, eyes welling up with another round of tears. The moment he saw that familiar scarlet hair made his heart sink. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Karma's torso, burring his face into his black blazer. He gripped the black fabric as tightly as he could manage. He felt Karma rub his back gently, triggering Nagisa to wail even harder.

"I'm such an i-idiot...I almost...I-I almost..." he choked on is words, unable to say more so he decided to release his death grip. His azure blue eyes climbed up to meet Karma's golden eyes, until he felt his face tinting a light blush. He forced himself to look away, but nonetheless...

He could hear the taller boy chuckle.

"I'm fine, I'm okay, Nagisa-kun. Don't worry about me. It's not your fault.." His hand brushed against Nagisa's cheek, in hopes to comfort the smaller teen and he succeeded, plus an extra bonus for making the boy blush even deeper. Karma's hand was strangely soft and warm, making Nagisa's scales brighten.

"What's this?" Karma smirked, visible devil horns and his malicious grin showing.

"My scales." He muttered, but Karma pressed again.

"I think it's you showing your soft side. Or should I say, your cute side?" Karma mused, tilting Nagisa's chin up. The half-snake blinked and squeaked when he realized Karma was grinning more at his reaction.

"K-Karma!" He exclaimed, shoving the taller playfully, making the scarlet haired grin even wider. Though, after a while, Karma's face when stone-cold serious.

"Nagisa. I was worried about you. Are you okay? Okay, as in okay mentally and emotionally?" He asked, holding both of his hands. Nagisa's eyes went wide abit. He never knew Karma could be so..concerned. Especially if it's the same Karma who got suspended for violence, not giving a single fuck about the consequences.

"I-I'm okay, Karma-kun." Nagisa said softly, squeezing his hands. Though his eyes seem to go wide when his head replayed a memory.

"But are you okay?! I nearly killed you! Are you hurt?!" He suddenly began to panic, rolling up Karma's sleeves to make sure his skin wasn't spotted with any bruises or wounds. He was so carried away by his bloodlust; he couldn't control himself! What if he killed someone next time? His train of thought began to run wild, anxiety weighing in his stomach like an anchor.

"Nagisa." A stern voice made the blunet's thoughts come to a halt, and loosen his grip on Karma's arm. He reached a hand up to where he had rolled up the sleeve and pulled it back down.

"Look at me." Karma had his voice at a soft tone to allow the smaller teen to respond, however Nagisa did the opposite and turned away, frowning.

"You don't deserve me. C-Class E doesn't deserve me! I'm a monster! A freak!" He hissed, curling his fingers so hard his nails dug into his palm. Blue eyes stared at his balled fists, his teeth sinking into his lip. He felt the blood drip down his lips; though he allowed it to slowly cascade down his curled bottom lip. He was like Frankinstein's Monster, or in this case, Takaoka's Monster. He wanted to just rip at his snake features and tear them away for good, but they were firm on his body and they were permanent. His fingers slowly uncurled, for Nagisa relaxed and closed his eyes.

"You'll be better off without me..." His hands began to shake, not bothering to wipe his eyes again as tears continue to fall. His whole body felt numb as he cried, as if his arms and legs were paralyzed. Karma watched his smaller friend sob uncontrollably, ugly chokes and sniffles following. He sat on the medical wing bed and clasped his hands to his knees.

"I would be dead if it weren't for you, Nagisa. I wanted to beat his sorry ass; but my fucking arm held me back.." He lifted up his left arm, that was casted in a sling. Hidden blue eyes revealed themselves, staring at Karma's cast. Nagisa felt his blood freeze at the hardened bonds around Karma's arm.

"Does it hurt? I-I mean, that snap sounded painful..." He gestured a finger to brush it gently. Karma didn't even flinch, only snickered.

"It hurts like hell. But he would've taken that arm if you didn't step in." He said calmly. Nagisa just clamped his mouth shut and puffed out his cheeks.

"Well...I just wanted to protect you." This certain delinquent was important to Nagisa; one being his closest friend. Seeing him hurt or in danger made Nagisa forget about himself and only matter about protecting the ones he loved, this being Karma or any of his family. The sound of a wooden door sliding made Nagisa flinch and whip his head towards the opening door, revealing the green hair of Kayano.

"N-Nagisa! You're awake!" The green-haired whispered, her hazel eyes taking in the moving form of the once unconscious blue-haired. She ran over to him and placed her hands on the bed.

"Are you feeling okay? You were covered in bruises and I really thought..." Her lips closed and she frowned. Nagisa just observed her body language; she was definitely worried. Did she think he was going to die?

"I-I'm alright, Kayano-san!" He gave her his light smile. But it didn't seem to soothe the storm of worry brewing.

"You're not...you're not alright.." She mumbled, carefully placing a hand to his forehead, which was cold as ice. She tensed, though didn't want to make Nagisa uncomfortable with her initial reaction, so she slid her hand down to his cheek, feeling the small bumps of the teen's scales.

"Takaoka did this to you...he made you like this.." Kayano whispers, removing her hand and facing the ground. Nagisa could sense her anger rise, but he didn't want to cause any more conflict. The last thing this class needs is another problem.

"Kayano." He spoke softly, making her look into his azure blue eyes. Nagisa paused for a moment before he continued.

"I am still me. I'm still Nagisa." He said, giving his signature smile.

"All that changed is my physical endurance, and my facial features. I will always be the guy who was given this hairstyle." He motioned his arm and bounced one of his pigtails gently with his palm, giving it a quick glance before returning to Kayano. She seemed to nod slightly and smile.

"Of course. I'll just have to...get used to the whole 'snake' scales." She said and bowed in respect.

"Sorry I couldn't stay long, Bitch-Sensei allowed me to go to the washroom, but I also wanted to check on you. I'll see you later, Nagisa! Feel better soon!" She walked towards the door and slid it closed, leaving Karma and Nagisa alone once again. The two seemed to go silent for a few minutes, thinking of what else to say to one another. However, Karma took a short breath to break the silence.

"What about your 'mom?'" Karma hinted a deep emphasis on the last word. Nagisa's smile seemed to be only temporary, given the fact that he hasn't been home for 2 days. His mother is probably worried sick; or even worse, fuming with rage. Blue eyes wandered to his old friend, swimming with worry.

"I..I'm not so sure if she would want to be face-to-face with her son who had bit her." He mumbled, eyelids drooping abit. Karma seemed to just grunt, forcing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't even know why you still feel the slightest bit of sympathy for that woman. Christ Nagisa, she abuses you!" Karma shouts, baring his teeth, a fist slamming onto the end of the small bed. Nagisa just blinked, unable to think of a response.

It was true that his mother was cruel and possibly transphobic, but she was still his mother. She was so sweet back then; maybe she could change. He glanced down at his gown and looked at his chest, that was flattened and covered with his grey binder. Thankfully, his mother didn't know about it, and Japan had some shops that sold these chest-compression tops. Nagisa stroked his chest and looked up at Karma, who was mumbling angrily to himself.

If he wanted to tell someone he was transgender, it was Karma. However, his head refused, creating a sink-hole within his stomach. What if Karma thinks he's an even bigger freak, knowing that Nagisa was born biologically female and had all the parts of a female. Nagisa felt his lip twitch, frowning upon those possibilities.

"Nagisa?" A smooth voice cut him off and Nagisa flinched, darted his attention to his scarlet-haired friend who seemed to be scanning over the smaller boy with a scattered expression.

"You're not having any of those day-dreams, are you?" He mused, making Nagisa's pigtails spike upward in shock.

"A-Ah, no! K-Karma, I'm not that filthy-minded!" He squeaked, his hands forced at his side. Karma's low snickers just made Nagisa trail off into his own thoughts again. If he doesn't except me...who will?

Though another thought ran through his mind.

If Karma really denied me for who I am..we wouldn't have been friends in the first place! Him and I have similar interests and the most talent for assassination. Surely he would understand? Nagisa took a deep breath, that made Karma hum in confusion.

"K-Karma-kun?"

"Hm?"

His palms began to sweat, eyes jittering to keep focus with Karma's golden eyes. Nagisa's heart began to race, making him quiver.

"I-I'm...actually.."

"Come on, Nagisa-kun. Spit it out." He prompted, motioning his hand in a circle. The blue-haired teen finally took another breath. Sharp eyes rested on Karma.

"I'm transgender."


	16. Romantics

The room was quiet. The two stared at each other blankly; Nagisa was shot by Karma's golden stare, eyes expressionless and wide with surprise. Nagisa couldn't tell if it was a good sign, or a bad sign. His heart almost popped out of his chest with instant regret; his gut hinting at the possible fact of this not going to be a positive reaction.

"So...you have breasts and...a vagina..." A low huff escaped from Karma's lips, eyes almost glowing. Nagisa'a blood went cold and his temperature dropped until the point where he began to shiver. Slowly, Karma sat up and walked slowly over towards Nagisa, who closed his eyes and prepared for the worse.

A yell...

A shout...

Even a smack to the face..

However, it never came. Only the feeling of fingers brush his shoulder blades, adding warmth to Nagisa's cold palette. Azure eyes opened their curtains and looked down at Karma's hand that was tugging at his hospital gown. Feeling unsure about this, Nagisa's eyes trails up to meet Karma's stone-hard gaze.

"May I?" He spoke softly, like a stream of silk that tickled Nagisa's ears. He was hesitant however, his throat drying up.

"I..." What should he do? Allow Karma to see the person he wasn't from the very beginning? Uncertainty flooded his mind and triggered memories he had wished he had long forgotten.

"Oh, Nagisa-chan..you have such lovely hair.."

"Ah, ah, ah! Nagisa, your dress! It's going to get wrinkled!"

"Take that stupid tie off, right now! You are a girl!"

"S-Sure..." He croaked, turning his gaze away from his taller friend. Slowly, Karma's lithe fingers undid the string that tied behind Nagisa's neck to keep the gown on. He pulled down the flaps and saw the grey fabric of that 'undershirt' he had once saw before.

"You must think I'm some freak, hm?" Nagisa mumbled, a grin sneaking up his face.

"Like something God didn't make me?" No response. The blue-haired teen forced his eyes shut and expected curse words. Again, none came, only soft pressure stroking his chest. Nagisa gasped softly and turned to Karma, whose it was his hand that ran up and down his flattened chest.

"Nagisa. This doesn't make you a freak. This just makes you a brave little bastard." An arm hug around Nagisa's neck and Karma grinned.

"Christ, you may be small and weak, but shit you have guts." He kneaded his fist into Nagisa's scalp. Confusion bubbled inside the smaller boy's head; plus the pain from the nuggie.

"So...you don't hate me?" The nuggies stopped and the arm retracted from Nagisa. Blue eyes met gold.

"Nagisa-kun. You're half snake for gods sake! Why would you think I wouldn't accept this?" He asked, tone slightly hurt. Now that he had thought about it, Karma was laid back when it came to things like this. He was just a relaxed person in general. Nagisa knew this from the day he had saw Karma walk into his classroom, only to walk out minutes after he had received his math textbook.

"I don't know. Not a lot of people like people who are like me." He replied, pulling up his gown and tying it back up again. Karma just scoffed.

"Well that's fucking stupid. It's like hating or judging people who like a food you hate! It's ridiculous!" He folded his arms and looked to Nagisa once again. His face...seemed soft and cute today, even if he's in a hospital bed. Karma's golden eyes scanned the azure eyes that blinked every so often at him. Slowly, he leaned forward and cupped Nagisa's cheek, grinning.

"You're such a cute little snake." He said, seeing Nagisa's lips open to let out a response, but he dove closer towards Karma and grabbed linked his arms around Karma's neck. Their noses touched, and the red-haired teen was caught completely off guard. Then, Nagisa went in for the kill:

By their lips connected to one another's.

The kiss was slow and tender, and Karma felt as if he was stabbed in the heart. He glanced at Nagisa, whose eyes were drowning with lust. Karma soon closed his eyes and accepted the kiss, wrapped his arms around Nagisa's torso. The two passionately held the kiss for a solid two minutes before Nagisa opened his eyes and broke their embrace with a short gasp.

"O-Oh! K-Karma-kun I'm so sorry! I-I didn't—" an index finger touched Nagisa's lips, silencing his complains.

"Just shut up and kiss me, Shiota."

-—-

Kayano was finally finished her paragraph in English. Her arm was aching from her writing letters and numbers. She placed her pencil down and grabbed her papers to straighten them out. She stood up, green hair flowing with her. Bitch-Sensei looked to her, blue eyes scanning her sheet of papers.

"Done? Let me see." She said, and was handed Kayano's finished work. The green haired patiently waited for Bitch-Sensei to read it over to make sure there were no spelling or grammar mistakes; if so she would send Kayano back to fix the mistakes.

"Almost perfect. You said: 'Geckos are treated good.' When saying a sentence like this, it is technically incorrect to say 'good' like what you did here. Replace that with 'well', and correct a few grammar mistakes and you're free to leave." She handed Kayano back her writing and she couldn't hide her groans. Walking back to her seat, she sat down and grabbed her pencil, looking to see the empty chair beside her.

"I hope you're okay, Nagisa..."

-—-

Karma held his friend gently, staring into his blue eyes.

"Shit, you're a great kisser. No wonder Kayano passed out on 15." He smirked, making Nagisa's face go a deep red.

"I-It was only for Koro-Sensei to extract her tentacles...It was a last resort!" He protested, but before Karma could reply, he suddenly broke their embrace when the door began to slide open. A familiar yellow octopus stood.

"Ah. I see you're finally awake, Nagisa-kun." He said, approaching the two. After Karma and Nagisa shared their affection, it was mildly awkward for their teacher to barge in. Though he brushed the feeling off.

"Are you feeling alright? That fight was quite hardcore..." A tentacle pressed against Nagisa's neck, feeling the freezing temperatures almost instantly. Koro-Sensei felt a soft and sturdy pulse, and removed his tentacle.

"I-I feel okay, Koro-Sensei...just drowsy." And with that, he yawned, showing off his sharp teeth. Nagisa blinked tiredly at his teacher, who seemed conflicted.

"I had Karasuma send some information to local doctors. I have not revealed anything about the issue, but it will take a month or so to see weather not this can be cured." He said, placing a tentacle on Nagisa's hand before continuing.

"Your mother had also called...She was worried about you; but I had told her you wanted to stay after school hours for some extra study hours. I figured you would be unfit to walk such a distance, so that lie had to be made." He spoke. Nagisa felt as if he were stabbed and the knife in his gut was twisted. He was bleeding, and no matter how he struggled to get the dagger out, blood continued to spill.

His mother.

He gripped the sheets tightly as he began to shake. Karma turned to him, and frowned.

"Nagisa-kun?" He leaned forward to gently grip the smaller boy's hand in attempts to comfort him. The red-haired teenager had reoccurring conversations with Nagisa a while ago about how his mother had treated him.

"I swear, that bitch better not hurt you or I'll—"

"N-No! Karma, it's alright...don't worry about it."

He knew how Nagisa was: always caring about others around him while ignoring himself and his needs. He was the opposite of selfish.

He was selfless.

"Nagisa. You have to stand up to her." He told his friend, squeezing his hand tighter. But Nagisa had aggressively shaken his head, eyes clamped shut.

"No...she'll throw me out for sure; or make me wear girl clothing again." He whined. Both the teen's teacher just approached the duo.

"Nagisa. It is my duty as a teacher to look out for you and protect you. If your mother is causing you harm; this needs to be taken to the authorities and—"

"I can't!" He screamed, crying even harder. He began to release his tears.

"S-She'll force me to be something I'm not! But if I tell the police...I'll be alone..." He said, slightly calmer. Karma and Koro-Sensei exchanged glances. It was Karma who had an idea.

"Do you want me to stay over at your house? So you're not alone?" He was rubbing gentle circles in Nagisa's palm, who seemed to be less distressed.

"P-Please.." He whispered. Nagisa slowly got out of his bed. His bare feet touched the wooden flooring, and he wobbled. Thankfully, Karma had caught him, but in a very awkward position. Both blushed, while a certain octopus had a smirk on his face.

"Nufufu~ You two would make a dangerous couple." He was rubbing his tentacles mischievously, and was quickly cut off when Karma threw an anti-sensei knife at him, which obviously missed. But he continued to chuckle has Karma escorted Nagisa out of the classroom.

"I will be eagerly waiting to see the strategies you two will make to kill me! Good luck~" he called as they walked out of the building and towards Nagisa's home.


	17. Dinner Discussions

p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The afternoon was coming to an end. Blues and whites scattered the skies; clouds filling spaces. The sun had moved; now lower than before and almost touching the horizon. Karma walked down the seemingly abandoned street; carrying Nagisa in his arms. The boy was light; though Karma could easily guess based off his size and skinny frame. Karma admitted that Nagisa looked cute when he was defenless and open; like a damsel in distress. He also had to check to see if Nagisa was crying almost every 2 minutes, for he could hear the boy sniffle. The fact that his friend is afraid of his own mother makes Karma sick to his stomach. Unlike him, the red-haired was the one that scared his mom and dad when he lights things on fire for fun, or runs out in the middle of the night for a little stroll./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I don't think I can do this." Nagisa said, obvious anxiety lining his tone. Karma glanced down at Nagisa, whose twin-tails swished as he turned his head to face Karma. The delinquent just gave him a grin for reassurance./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You took down a man two, —no, three times your size, Nagisa-kun. I think you can stand up to your mother." He told him, who had shuffled in his arms, possibly feeling slight discomfort. Karma knew that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park for the smaller boy./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""This is different. She's my mom. Takaoka was an abusive teacher."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Your mother is abusive too, Nagisa. That's why I will not hesitate to punch her in her pretty jaw." He spoke with a low, husky growl. The half-snake seemed to shiver at his aggressive take on this situation, but it was when the temperature suddenly dropped near his chest and hips. Nagisa's face seemed to be lacking colour, almost a ghostly white. His small fangs chattered, his arms hugging himself tightly in attempts to keep himself warm./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oh, shit, Nagisa you're freezing...!" He shouted, stopping to the side and hugging Nagisa close to his chest. He sat down cross-legged to rest a bit. The half-snake continued to quiver, curling into a tighter ball. Without hesitation, Karma slipped off his blazer and draped it around Nagisa's shoulders. The shivering seemed to cease, but as Karma felt the smaller's hand, it still had its ice cold temperature./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We need to get you in warm bath or shower." Karma mused, making Nagisa blink up at him./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Y-Your house please. I can't go home like this. She'll think this is your doing and—"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I know the drill, Nagisa-kun. Now come on," he stood back on his feet and pulled Nagisa in for a quick peck on the cheek./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Let's get your little snake ass warmed up, hm?"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"-/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The water was warm, not too hot. A perfect temperature for Nagisa to warm up. The water felt good on his scales, like a gentle summer breeze. He sat in the shower for some time, though he didn't really keep track./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Nagisa's mind grew blank, his eyes focusing on nothing. The half-snake seemed to be caught in a spider web of his own thoughts, until an eight-legged insect crawled on his web and was about to devour him in never ending flashbacks./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em"Oh, Nagisa! You're such a beautiful girl!"/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em"B-But mom...I feel more like a boy..." /em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"emNagisa didn't feel himself flinch when the memory of his mother slapping him on the cheek was played./em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em"You are a girl! You have the organs of a girl, and you will stay as my daughter!" She screamed, with young Nagisa rearing back with alarm and his eyes were almost closed shut. /em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"em"M' sorry mom..."/em/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Nagisa?" A loud knock made the boy gasp, his feet shifting against the slippery floor of the shower, almost making him lose his balance./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Y-Yes?" He had called, sighing with relief when he had realized Karma was the one behind the door. He heard the door creak open, and Nagisa's face poked out from the shower curtains; shielding his naked body from his friend./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I just finished dinner; you okay? I heard you scream." Karma leaned in the bathroom closer inside, and saw only Nagisa's face exposed./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""M'fine. I'll be down in a second." He mumbled, retreating back behind the shower curtain that protected himself from Karma's wandering golden eyes. Not only did Nagisa not have an appetite, but he didn't want to leave the house. He didn't want to leave Karma./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The fact that he had bitten his mother still haunts him, and the reaction upon when Nagisa returns home would be unpleasant. As he stepped out of the shower and draped his lithe frame in a white towel, he made his way to the guest bedroom he was sleeping in, and saw a fresh pair of clothing. A denim dress shirt with charcoal grey pants. As he held the neatly folded clothes, he spotted a grey half-tank./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was his chest binder. Gently placing the stack of clothes on the bed, Nagisa reached for his binder, which was warm and fresh. A smile stretched on his face, and he slipped it on./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Then, he grabbed his boxers, pants and shirt and did the same. Nagisa stepped towards a mirror, and looked at his reflection. His curves were there; but thankfully not too noticeable. Rotating counter-clockwise, he examined his chest; it seemed to be naturally flat. With a approving nodd, Nagisa padded out of the room and gently closed the door/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"–—–—/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"It was awkwardly silent at the dinner table when the duo took their seats to eat the meal Karma had well prepared. It was not like Nagisa had disliked his company; but he was still hung over about his mother. When he looked up to his plate, he saw Karma eying him curiously while chewing a spoon of curry. A few seconds pasted and he swallowed, looking at his friend./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Hey Nagisa, you okay? You haven't touched your curry." He said, putting down his spoon. Nagisa knew there was no point in lying. Karma could tell if he was lying or not, he knew how to read people./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I-I'm just not over my mom." He admitted, staring at his untouched plate. A sigh came from the scarlet-haired and the sound of a chair screeching backwards. He felt a hand on his shoulder and the half-snake immediately glanced upwards at Karma./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I think this is all because you're concealing the feelings of anger and frustration. You're half snake Nagisa; and you can't keep your anger bottled up."/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm not keeping it bottled up, I just—" Karma hushed him with a gentle kiss on his cheek, making Nagisa tense up./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Nagisa. Tell me; do you like me?" He blurted suddenly, making Nagisa tilt his head./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Like you? Of course I do!"/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""No; like LIKE me." He seemed to tilt his head at an angle to hide something on his face. Blush perhaps? Though Nagisa has to admit; this was a difficult question to answer. He knew Karma had something for him; but did Nagisa have things for Karma back?/p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I-I mean, you do kiss me and makes me question–" suddenly, the red head dove in and kissed Nagisa's lips. The blunet's eyes went wide, and his fave was engulfed in a darker colour around his cheeks. Karma released his kiss and smirked./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Eat. We'll talk about this when we get into bed." He said and returned to his seat to finish his dinner. Nagisa sat to think if he was really keeping his snake emotions at bay; his feelings for his best friend./p  
p style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"It wasn't healthy to keep his feelings to himself, but he didn't want to be someone who is violent and looks like they could rip your throat out if you cross them. With a sigh, Nagisa grabbed a spoonful of curry and ate it with the nevertheless thought of the snake inside him finally breaking out./p 


	18. Code Red

As soon as Nagisa's head hit the pillow, he almost passed out of exhaustion. He was utterly surprised that he didn't fall asleep; even when he was mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted.

The blunet, however had to get up and change out of his clothes and remove his binder. He had picked up a few tips from the Internet about owning a binder, and an important rule was to never sleep in one.

It would cause constriction and the ribcage could be damaged, and the last thing the boy needed was a broken rib. So, Nagisa stripped himself of his clothes, except his boxers and stepped towards the dresser. Karma had told him he had owned a few shirts in the top drawer of his red-wood dresser. Nagisa opened up the drawer and fished out a dark red shirt that read: 'I bite back' on it.

He mused slightly; the shirt had fit Karma's devilish personality well. Nagisa slipped it over his head, feeling the soft fabric touch his skin and scales, warmth welcoming him. Closing his eyes, he purred and a smile etched on his lips. Something about this shirt made him feel nice and safe.

Being around Karma made him feel safe. He hummed softly and slowly reopened his eyes and flopped on the bed. He sighed deeply as he waited for his red-haired mate. What was taking him so long that—

Then Nagisa froze. He had called Karma his mate. A pale hand ran through his blue locks. Maybe his reptile-like personality was taking effect on his romantic feelings for Karma. Though Nagisa didn't like this one bit. What if he does something and—

Taking a deep breath, Nagisa folded his legs and stared at his arms.

"Karma would never hate me. He said it himself." He told himself, repeating it softer and softer each time. The pale fingers that gripped his knees tightened, following a low hiss from the blunet's mouth. The blue orbs of his eyes slowly began to define; pupils thinning out so intensity that they had the depth of paper.

His fingers bored deeper into his flesh, small crescent shaped dents forming on his skin from his nails. Shakily, Nagisa attempted to get himself out of this outburst with his hands retreating upward to stop himself from digging any further. He didn't realize that he was undoing his pigtails, but he felt his hair fall to his shoulders and tickle his neck.

"Nagisa?" A small gasp escaped the blunet's lips, head whipping upwards to find Karma standing in the doorway, holding a glass of water. Obvious concern was looming in Karma's golden eyes as he observed Nagisa in a cross-legged position, and the fact that he no longer had the pigtails Karma had always found adorable.

"You okay, snake-child?" He suddenly mused, making the concerning scene break. Nagisa only huffed, his eyes moving away from the red-head. He always knew Karma had a thing for teasing the smaller boy, but it was the worst time to do so, especially when Nagisa had an episode.

"K-Karma..that wasn't necessary" He rasped, turning his body away and attempting to tie his hair back up in his usual style. However, his hands were still shaking, making it harder for Nagisa to thread his fingers through his hair. Becoming frustrated, he clutched clumps of blue hair and began to pull. But, before he could tug any harder, he felt warm hands cover his. They motioned his arms down to his sides, the sound of elastics smacking making Nagisa tilt his head up.

"Keep your head down." Karma ordered calmly, and the blunet obeyed. He felt strands of his hair being slightly pulled and his brown elastics wrapping around into the hairstyle that Kayano had given him.

"There." He was motioned to the mirror, and it triggered Nagisa's shoulders to box in.

His skin was pale with hints of blue-green scales around his eyes, that were his usual azure blue; however removed his innocent look for his pupils were thin. Nagisa frowned.

"I look hideous." He mumbled, but Karma silenced him with a playful chuckle.

"You're the most good-looking snake I've ever met."

"I-I'm not even fully snake..! I-I'm only half.." He protsted and swirled his head to the left, only for the duo's lips to connect for a split second.

"I guess you're right. Snakes don't really give good kisses; but you do." Karma smirked, and Nagisa's cheeks turned a faint pink. The red head sniggered and wrapped his arm around the smaller boy who didn't protest. Blue eyes looked to Karma's hand, and the desperate urge to squeeze it was inevitable. His grip was tight, forcing his eyes shut with his mouth wavering.

"I..I don't want to go back home. I-I mean I miss her; but I can't face her after what I did. She'll think I'm a monster..." He whispered, his voice hoarse from his hisses from earlier.

"You have to stand up to her." Karma replied, squeezing the blunet's hand tighter for reassurance.

"You can't just run away from everything. It only makes problems bigger until you don't know how to deal with them." He continued, bronze eyes looking down at Nagisa, whose eyes were staring at their connected hands.

"But—"

"Do it for me, Nagisa. You're tougher than you look." He half chuckled, kissing his cheek gently. Karma earned a small smile from the blunet, in hopes he had taken his small speech into thought.

"O-Okay. I'll try." He said, blue orbs shining up at the red-haired delinquent. Karma smiled.

"Good. After this is done, we have to focus on assassinating Koro-Sensei."

"You know I never forgot; right?"

A snicker erupted from Karma.

"I'm sure you didn't."

In a cold sweat, Nagisa shot up from the bed. It was 3:46 in the morning and the blunet had felt wetness in his boxers. It had an unpleasant scent to it, and with his enhanced sense of smell he knew that he had to make an escape for the restroom to investigate. He turned to his side of the bed and hopped out, quickly glancing at the denting of the covers from where he had laid down.

A huge spot of blood bloomed on the pale white sheets, making Nagisa sick to his stomach upon the truth:

He had gotten his period. Of all the days he could've received it, it was today. He glanced at his partner; whose back was facing him and slight snores rose from his mouth. With a quick turn of his heel, Nagisa dashed inside the bathroom and locked the door, immediately pulling down his boxers to see that they too, like the bed sheets have been stained with splotches of red. Embarrassment began to brew within him. Periods were indeed the days Nagisa dreaded. It was ever since his 12th birthday when he had first gotten it, and at the time Nagisa had identified as a male.

It made him feel less of a man and his self confidence crumbled. Men don't get their periods. Women do. He began to tap his bare foot against the white tiles of the bathroom, the thought of needing maxi pads and tampons crossing his mind. Surely Karma's mother would keep a few lying around somewhere? He needed some in order to seal the crimson liquid that escaped his lower body.

With the thought fresh in his mind, Nagisa wiped his legs, which red was caked all over. Quickly soaking the toilet paper, he began to dab the blood off, and thankfully it took only two drenched pieces of toilet paper to finish the job. Nagisa stood up and flushed, wiping off the remainder off his boxers as best he could.

He unlocked the door and opened it, slinking out quietly in hopes of not disturbing his ma—friend in deep slumber. Nagisa felt as if he were being timed; it was only a matter of minutes when he will begin to leak again. Cramps began to worsen, let alone show up.

He moaned with pain, trotting towards the red head's parents room. He spotted the bathroom door and opened it, crouching down and searching the dry sink for anything to stop his bleeding. After minutes of shuffling through bottles of shampoo and body wash and makeup, he found a small container that said:

"Super plus tampons"

Sighing with relief, he fished a green one out of the box and unwrapped it. He gripped the sides with two fingers and inserted the applicator, pushing it up far enough until he pulled the empty shell of the applicator out. Clumps of shredded bloody tissue made Nagisa shiver with disgust. He grabbed a handful of toilet paper and wrapped it up, throwing it in the garbage.

"Ugh." He sighed as he stood up and flushed the toilet, half hoping it wouldn't wake Karma up. He pulled up his boxers and scrambled back into the bedroom, finding it completely empty. Anxiety rippled through Nagisa when he looked around to see the bed, unfortunately bare.

"K-Karma-kun?" He whispered, searching for the certain red head who had disappeared while the half-snake attended to his personal issues. He checked everywhere in the bedroom but Karma was nowhere in sight. Suddenly he heard metal clanking downstairs. Was it Karma? Or possibly intruders? Nagisa was unsure, but he allowed his snake instincts take the wheel.

He quickly whisked down the stairs, eyes narrowing down the hallway that lead into the kitchen. Nagisa heard more metal hitting against marble, and that's when he began to take timid steps forward. Thankfully the wooden floors were intact and no squeaking of the floorboards were heard. He slunk towards the edge of the wall, and stayed put until he heard footsteps approaching his hiding spot.

With a hiss, he leaped.


	19. Breakfast

He heard a cry of surprise emit from the person he had pounced on, and as he whipped his head down to meet his victim, Nagisa instantly regretted looking down.

"What is this? Some kind of practice session?" Karma blurts, gold eyes narrowed with a smug smirk on his face. Nagisa gave a small squeak and got off of his lover, feeling his cheeks warm up, flushed with embarrassment. Nagisa wanted to slap himself for doing such a dumb and obnoxious move.

"S-Sorry, Karma-kun." He muttered, rubbing his arm so intensely it began to grow red with irritation. It began to burn, friction taking the spotlight. Karma immediately stopped him, almost like he knew how exactly how much it had burned, and moved Nagisa's much smaller and delicate hands to his chest.

"Enough with the apologies. Just tell me why you're still up?" He demands. "It's not even 7:00 yet." Nagisa blinked, dumbfounded. He glared at the clock just above the doorway, the hands striking 6:30. His cheeks grew even warmer to the touch, and he felt like his face was on fire.

"I...I had an issue." He replies, avoiding the description of his little personal 'issue'. Karma scanned him, golden eyes twinkling.

"Can you tell me what—"

"N-No thank you!" He interrupts, his hands shaking slightly, retreating back from Karma's chest. Nagisa needed to change the subject as quickly as possible.

"S-So, why are YOU up this early?" He emphasized, crossing his arms. "I thought you were an intruder!" Nagisa hissed, his tongue flicking out ever so slightly, however Karma was able to catch it and let out a warm chuckle.

"You know, you're cute when you're mad." Golden eyes bored into Nagisa's azure ones, like a sunset seeping it's orange colours through the blue sky. Nagisa's response was just a quiet hiss, but he never broke his serious gaze.

"Karma, just, answer my question instead of flirting with me.." he sighed. The taller boy just shrugged, shutting his eyes.

"Eh, I don't get too much sleep. I have insomnia but it doesn't bother me much." He explains, raising his hands palms-up to the ceiling and elevated his shoulders. Nagisa's eyes were raised with interest. Insomnia? That explains...alot.

"Do you not...like sleeping?"

"I mean, sleeping is a basic human function but I just barely need it. 2 to 4 hours of sleep is enough to energize me." He opened one eye, and his shoulders sagged. Concern was obvious in Nagisa's expression; eyebrows curled and mouth slightly agap. However, his eyes say it all. Inside those beautiful, cerulean eyes is someone who cares deeply for the red-head. Sometimes Karma wonders how he's able to hide his bloodlust when his expressions are an open book.

"Don't give me that look, I'm fine."

"K-Karma, that's not enough sleep! Y-You could really damage your body's growth.

"I don't really mind, it's just that I don't feel like doing something like that."

Nagisa, in response said nothing, his worried expression now, oddly unreadable.

"Fine. L...Lets just get ready for the day, I guess.

-0-0-0-

Nagisa smelled the meats already, and felt his saliva grow intense. Never has he realized that fish smelt so delicious. Karma made all sorts of foods, but Nagisa seemed to focus on the protein only. He ignored the tofu and miso soup and the fresh assortments of other tasty foods. He felt bad for almost making a puddle of drool on the marble island, and before Karma could notice he wiped his mouth with a napkin and the tiny splashes of spit.

"Breakfast is served, Nagisa-kun!" Karma explained, offering a proud grin as he placed all of the foods he had made. The blue-haired boy's eyes sparkled, mouth a gap.

"K-Karma, this all looks amazing!" He beamed, looking back at his lover. The taller boy seemed to blush a red similar to his hair colour and scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah, well, I learned a few recipes and decided to try them." He replies. "So dig in, Nagisa!" He said, and the smaller boy slowly reached for the grilled fish, some miso soup and steamed rice. He unwrapped the chopsticks and grabbed a nice chunk of the white rice. Raising up to his mouth, he noticed that it scent of the rice smelt...odd. As he popped it in his mouth, his analysis of the rice was indeed true:

It tasted disgusting. Nagisa felt the need to throw up, and his mouth made a ugly frown. Refusing to show his distaste, he forced himself to swallow it down, and each breath he took afterward was painful. Karma, who was about to finish the rest of his miso soup paused and looked up to Nagisa.

"Something wrong?" He asked, as Nagisa coughed in his elbow.

"N-No!" He coughed again. "J-Just swallowed my rice too quickly, thats all..." he gives Karma a reassuring smile, but the red-haired doesn't buy it for a second.

"Do you not like my food?" He tilts his head. "I mean, you don't HAVE to like it but—"

"I-It's delicious! Honestly!" Nagisa squeaks back, trying to avoid further conversation. He stared back at his food and discarded the rice, moving onto the fish. It had smelt so good and he couldn't wait to eat. He hungrily gobbled the fish down, already full.

"Good? I got it fresh." Karma smiles, standing up from his chair to grab his dishes, including Nagisa's.

"And, about your mom, you should try to talk to her alone." He suggests, and Nagisa's satisfied smile drooped.

"What if she...yells at me again?" He replies quietly, hands trembling. Nagisa never wanted to experience the same thing he had withstood last time.

"If she does, I'll make sure she doesn't." Karma growls, his slightly sharp teeth bared. Nagisa smiled a bit at Karma's support, but he didn't want him to yell at his mother either. The last thing the blunet needed was more conflict.

"Just...don't cause trouble." He half-begs, his eyes glued to the table. Then, a soft peck on his cheek makes him turn to golden eyes.

"I promise, Nagisa. Now come on. Let's get this sorted out."


	20. Reunited

The cool fall breeze danced through the red and blue hair of Karma and Nagisa. They had just left the house to visit Nagisa's mother, who the last time the blunet made any contact with her was when he bit her on her forearm.

He can still remember the absolute terror and disgust on her face, as if it had just happened yesterday. Her words pierced his chest like daggers and ever since, he had refused to go home. The warmth of Karma's hand who Nagisa held onto for dear life was soothing, but he was afraid how his mother would react to him revealing two things:

1\. That he is half reptile,

2\. He isn't her little girl.

He always presented himself as male and believed that ever since he was a little girl, that he was a boy. Of course, appearances didn't matter back then, but he was lucky enough that he got to wear what he desired...

In a perfect world, maybe. Hiromi Shiota thought that this whole 'being a boy' thing was just a phase, and that it would end.

So when Nagisa reached the age of 10, and presumably thought he was no longer in that phase, all she made him wear through middle school was dresses and skirts. Hiromi's hatred for Nagisa's "choice" only grew when the two went shopping for clothes at their local super centre.

"Mommy, can we go into the boys section?" Young Nagisa asked, pointing to the giant sign that labelled: BOYS. With a slight chuckle, Hiromi grabbed his wrist gently.

"Oh Nagisa, you're a girl and they must be wearing dresses and all sorts of pretty things!" She proceeded to pull him in the completely opposite direction, with young Nagisa on the verge of tears.

"Karma..." his throat felt clogged. The red head turned to him, attentive like always.

"Yes?" He replies, his tone soft like silk that made Nagisa's heart flutter.

"I..." he paused, thinking whether or not to express his concern.

"Sorry I took so long leaving, I had to throw the bed sheets in the wash." He blurts.

"Why? Did you spill something?"

Nagisa immediately felt his face heat up, and he looked down to the cold, grey sidewalk.

"Y-Yeah...I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier." Not only did Karma give a slight muse, but he grabbed Nagisa's other hand and clamped them together with his own.

"You're adorable, Shiota." He cocked a grin, showing his slightly sharp teeth. Nagisa rolled his eyes playfully and gave a small smile back.

"And you're very flirtatious, Akabane."

They arrived a few minutes after throwing compliments at eachother like some sort of competition. Karma, obviously won, because he made Nagisa freeze up and blush ever so harshly. He would then try and get back into the game but he always stumbles on his words.

A soft hand on the blunet's shoulder made the anxiety in his stomach ease slightly.

"Hey. Don't be so worried. I'm here if you need some support." Nagisa could almost feel him grin.

"Or if she needs an ass whoo—"

"I don't think that's a great idea.." he sighs, smiling abit. Immediately, Karma stared at him in disbelief.

"Why are you protecting her?" He asked, his tone slightly ablazed with fury. Why does he protect someone who physically harms him? She's the only reason Nagisa is now an anxious mess. He was now lost in his own thoughts, unaware of Nagisa's blue eyes staring up at him, or the frown that he presented.

"I..." he began, but his voice didn't allow anymore words to come out. The blunet found himself almost choking on his words. Karma, finally out of his head saw Nagisa's distraught and his inner rage ceased into sympathy and guilt.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Let's just get this over with. You'll feel much better after this is done. I promise." The redhead says, and Nagisa gave a hesitant nod. Only a few more minutes and they were at Nagisa's house. Karma gave an encouraging pat on the smaller's back. With a breath, Nagisa walked up the steps of his home, fingers trembling as he glanced at the doorbell.

He inhaled the breathe he was holding and pressed the doorbell, a soft chime-like sound echoing through the Shiota house-hold. Soft footsteps thumped gently against the wooden floor from inside.

As they grew close, a female silhouette approached the door and Nagisa's posture shot up. Then, blue eyes met with dark brown, and Ms. Shiota was the first to gasp.

"N-Nagisa?"

And out of nowhere, Nagisa felt the warm embrace of his mother.


End file.
